


Rotted Rowan

by Darkpetal16



Category: Naruto
Genre: Anti-Hero, Evil, F/F, F/M, Female Anti-Hero, Gore, Graphic, Insanity, Isekai, M/M, Other, Reincarnation, Violence, War, antagonist, female villain, villain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:07:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 33
Words: 221,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkpetal16/pseuds/Darkpetal16
Summary: Not everyone can be a hero. Sometimes you have to play the villain in order to save everyone. OC Insert.Please read all the warnings listed at bottom of chapter 2. Proceed with caution.
Comments: 22
Kudos: 63
Collections: Into another world, The Knowing, ~Hallowtide Recommends~





	1. Descent

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This is a work of fiction. Please read all warnings listed at the bottom of chapter 2 before continuing.

**Art used was created by Cantrona on deviantART.**

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I don't think anyone really wants to be reborn in the Narutoverse. Not... not in the real Narutoverse. Not in the harsh and cruel one. The good one, maybe. Where everything seems bright and alright in their eyes, maybe. The real one, though? No... no... you would have to be an idiot to want to be reborn there. I know I didn't want to be reborn in this world; I was perfectly content with sitting back and reading others' stories or daydreaming about a perfect and bright world.

I didn't actually _want_ this.

That wasn't going to say I was going to fight it, here either. What was there to fight anyway? It happened already, there was nothing I could do to stop what had already occurred. All I could do was make the most of the situation. And what was that exactly?

Survival for starters.

It was such a strange thing. Knowing that I had to actively work and train just to survive the upcoming events. I had never had to do such a thing before in my previous life. Never had to go the extra mile, push myself to the limit both mentally and physically... just for the right to live. The concept itself was alien to me, and unsettled me. It was a reminder that I was no longer in my safe world, no longer in my homeworld period.

It wasn't as hard as I feared it would be, though. The discipline would be hard, yes. Extraordinarily hard compared to my rather lazy (in comparison) lifestyle before. It was my body, my very structure, and the way I subconsciously moved.

I had been lucky in the way I was reborn, I suppose. I had been blessed (or cursed) enough to be reborn in a shinobi clan, with generations of shinobi and kunoichi trailing behind me. My body was built far differently than what I was used to. For instance, I had more control over my physical body than what I thought possible for someone of my age, and my muscles weren't so loose and flabby at birth. There was a feeling of endurance seemingly built into this body, and at times it both thrilled and terrified me.

I was thrilled that my body was _made_ for combat, it was _made_ for training and that alone would make reaching my goal of being strong enough to survive, far easier. It also made adapting to my small body easier - I wouldn't have to feel so helpless when I could easily grip or move about.

It terrified me because it was yet another reminder that I would inevitably be using this body to kill. That I became a weapon.

And of course I would travel the kunoichi path. Civilians died far too easily for my liking unless they had connections. Besides, due to my family, I had everything I needed to train.

That and...

... and I wanted to change one thing.

I was reborn in roughly the same time period that Kakashi, Obito, Kurenai, Asuma, etc, had been born in. And I knew that immediately there was something I could do to stop the catastrophes that would erupt around Konoha, and thus improve not only my survival chances significantly... but it would be help better the lives of them.

It was such a small thing, what I planned to do.

I planned to prevent Obito from ever falling in love with Rin. Preferably, from ever meeting her. I knew I couldn't definitely prevent her death, or the rock fall, (I probably wasn't going to be on their team) but I could actively prevent him from falling in love with her. The only reason I could gather that he originally fell for her was because of her kindness and her support in him. If I could get him to receive that kind of support from someone else, then he would instead be attached to them, and Shisui wasn't scheduled to die for a long, long time. And who knew? Perhaps by preventing Tobi from ever being born... the massacre may not even happen in my lifetime.

Not to mention the plan itself was simple. It wasn't elaborate or dangerous or risky... worse comes to worse...

Well. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

I flexed my tiny, tiny fingers. I watched as the old woman before me smiled warmly at me. Her bright red hair was done up in twin buns, and she wore rich robes as she kept me in her lap. She brushed a long, wrinkled finger across my cheek and she continued to coo to me.

It had been roughly a year and a half since I had been reborn. A rough year - a year where I discovered just what happened to me and who I was. A year of mourning, of raging at the events, of acceptance of the circumstances, and of subtle adaption. I was a quiet child, and I knew it unsettled some people. I did not speak, not only because I didn't fully understand the language, but because I couldn't find anything to speak about. For the first portion of my new life, I was sullen and moody, disliking the circumstances, and it was because of that, that I stubbornly refused to utter a sound. However, that only lasted a couple of months before I was forced to accept the situation and devise a plan on what to do.

I still didn't speak, but this time because I didn't see reason to. There was no need to speak, when I could point or gesture to what I needed. No need to utter a sound, when I had no real reason to. Besides, I would much rather listen to what they said, then put my own two-cents in.

I lived with my grandmother, and my older cousin. I was technically orphaned. My new mother died in childbirth (she was too old to have children) and my new father died two days before my birth. Tragic, I suppose, but I didn't know them and I have already mourned my real parents. My grandmother was warm and gentle, unminding of my silence. She had a twinkle in her eyes, a knowing spark in them, and she treated me as an intelligent individual. From what I had seen from her interactions with my cousin, she treated her in the same manner.

She oozed grace, as well, and at times, I envied her. Despite her age, she was still beautiful and blooming with life. She had a mischievous side, as well. From what I had gathered from gestures and a handful of recognizable words, she was a bit on the wild side at times, and her temper was infamous (apparently). Most of time she remained composed and dignified, but there was a fire inside of her.

My older cousin had a temper, too. Her blond hair was tied low in two long pigtails, and her warm chocolate brown eyes had a fire in them. She seemed to love holding me in her lap, playing with my short, chocolate brown hair. She wasn't around all too often, and I knew it was because she was busy with missions and her boyfriend, Dan.

Grandmother seemed to be smirking at me, and I realized it was because I had been lost in my thought too long. I shifted in her lap, wiggling about until I was able to crawl out. I walked away, casting a huffing expression over my shoulder. She laughed heartily, before she followed sedately behind me, moving slowly. She never moved fast. Once upon time, she might have, but not anymore.

"Where are you going, little Naasica?" Grandmother asked, her soft voice trailing behind me. I didn't respond, as always, and continued on my way. We traversed the long, lifeless hallways, and entered the family's library.

"Another one?" Grandmother asked, her voice amused. "Very well. Choose a story, little one."

I smiled at her.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

When I finally decided I was old enough to begin training (two), I became torn. On one hand, I wanted to inform my grandmother and cousin of my sudden development, but on the other hand, I wanted to keep my training secret. Private. I wasn't sure how they would receive my choice to begin, whether they would discourage it due to my age, or they would encourage it,perhaps a little too fiercely for my liking. I settled on training small, and then deciding for myself when I wanted to try more serious things (such as tree-walking, water-walking) if I wanted to include them.

I pulled out a book from the library, it was labeled as basic chakra controlling exercises, and I pulled out another scroll that seemed to have been read often that instructed the necessary exercises and stretches for a child to go through before participating in taijutsu.

The stretches and exercises were similar to yoga of my old world, but there were a few defensive positions mixed in.

The purpose of this beginning stretch was to work the muscles and the body, not only to build them up and make them more flexible, but to also get the shinobi-in-training used to moving their body in such a way. Taijutsu required precise control over one's body, demanding the hand-eye coordination to be exact. In my past life, such demands would be seemingly impossible for me to meet, but in this life... in this body, it seemed almost innate. A lot of things seemed innate, actually. My reflexes were better, in comparison to what my reflexes must have been at this age in my previous life.

Every morning, before I left my room, I had to follow the set exercises that were designed for me. Due to my age, there would be few exercises that actually focused on building muscle. For the most part, I would position and hold said position for a set amount of time. Positions like the cobra, or eagle, and splits. Stretches for the most part, were designed to decrease the muscle tension and stiffness, while increasing range of motion and promote circulation. It also prepares the body for the actual stress of exercise, so when I did begin the actual exercises, my body would be better suited to handling it.

The stretches lasted roughly thirty minutes, and left me feeling loose, and hungry. Due to my younger body, my muscles were less stiff and limber, making the stretching easier. However, because it was still straining my body, and it was still a foreign thing when I started, it still left me a little sore the next morning.

The actual stretching and small exercises were the easier things in my training.

The harder part being chakra control.

Let me confirm and explain something first.

I had a _lot_ of chakra. More than what most children my age should have. More than what Genin should have, probably. As I said before, generations upon generations of shinobi and kunoichi before, left my body better developed and bred to handle the kunoichi lifestyle. Due to the nature of my clan, however, my chakra wasn't something to sniff at, either. On my grandmother's side, their clan was known for their massive reserves, and their special control over their chakra. On my grandfather's side, their clan was also known for their massive reserves and their ability to completely dominate their respective chakra natures. Due to the combining of the two highly chakra-intensive families, it was only natural that I, my parents, and my cousins had insanely high amounts of chakra.

I remember my cousin telling me that she was a bit luckier in her control. Her father, while born and bred a shinobi, married her mother, who was born and bred a civilian. She lost out a bit on the massive reserves, but that didn't mean her chakra reserves weren't anything to sniff at, either. She still had to go through special training to reach the control she had now with her reserves. I remember, a time where she held me and laughed, telling me that because both of my parents were shinobi, I too would have to go the extra mile to gain the fundamental chakra control required.

Despite knowing that, I had thought that because of my ability - of my awareness - of my chakra, it would be easier.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Chakra felt.... Chakra felt comforting. While I knew it was inside of me, it felt more like I was wearing a warm coat (or a cool coat on hot days), just buzzing right outside of my skin. That was incorrect, because chakra grew inside of me, traversing along my nervous and cardiac system, but it was what it felt like.

When I held the first leaf in my hand, after doing my basic stretches, I concentrated hard on what I knew to be my chakra. The book instructed to concentrate on the chakra (I had skipped ahead, as the first chapter informed me of how to find chakra, but I already knew where to find it, and how to find it. It was constantly there, a constant reminder of the difference between this body and the previous one), and to pull it towards my finger.

I felt goosebumps crawl up and down me and I concentrated hard on that warm sensation wrapped around me. I could feel a sort of rush slowly crawl away from my shoulder, and tip-toe down to my fingers where I held the leaf. The instant the rush touched the leaf, the leaf burst into flames.

I gave a small squeak of surprise and threw the leaf away, wincing at the burn it left on the tips of my fingers.

I had pulled only the smallest bit of chakra, yet it was still too much.

The _smallest_ bit.

My shoulders sagged and I gave a tiring sigh. _I have way too much chakra... this is going to take way too long._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Roughly two weeks after I began my training, my cousin decided to take me out for ice-cream. I was carried on her shoulders, and I took in the world with wide, wide eyes. I had only been allowed outside of the compound a handful of times - three to be exact. The first time was when I was actually born into the world, the second time when I visited my parents' grave, and this made it the third time.

I knew why I was kept inside, secluded. There were so few of our clan left, not only because the majority of us kept dying on missions, but because there were so many assassination attempts and kidnappings... My cousin's mother died from an assassination, from what she told me. The majority of our family went out onto the front lines and died, though. My father being no exception, and while we weren't at war currently, there were still many who would wish us dead.

Who would wish _me_ dead.

Just because of what family I was born in.

I rested my chin on the top of her head, taking everything in with wide, wide eyes.

"Hmm... let's see... what, oh, what can I get my favorite cousin?" Tsunade wondered, a light chuckle in her voice. "This will be the second time outside our home, right, Nassica?"

I nodded my head, noticing the glances and gazes that turned in our direction. I felt uncomfortable under them, so I focused my attention on my cousin.

"Let's see... there's a toy-store around here somewhere. I just got a nice juicy paycheck from my last mission. Obaa-chan been scolding me to keep out of the gambling, but I just have this urge to use it. How about a new toy, Naasica?" Tsunade asked.

I nodded again, kissing the top of her head affectionately. Tsunade laughed and leapt up onto the rooftops. I felt my stomach rise and drop at the action, and a pleasant thrill went through me. She leapt effortlessly over the next roof, and the roof after that. After a couple more leisurely jumps, she landed back down on the busy street, and stood before what I knew was a toy store. She lifted me off her shoulders, holding me up to the bright, blue sky and smiling at me.

Beaming back at her, I wiggled in her hands. Taking the hint, she set me gently down on the ground and took my hand. I trailed after her, and once inside, she released her hold on me. "Alright, Naasica, take your pick. You get one toy."

Nodding my head, I eyed the store. It was filled to the brim with stuffed animals, and toy kunai and shuriken, and all sorts of things that screamed shinobi child. There was a childish glee that bubbled inside of me, and despite how mature I was, I was still a child. I still held childish emotions and childish hormones, I just knew how to control and ignore them better. At that instant, though, I didn't bother.

I ran about the store, deftly avoiding and twisting around other shoppers. Tsunade kept behind me, content with watching me marvel and stare at everything. I finally stopped wandering around when my eyes found a small stuffed creature.

It was brown and black, its wings tucked against its body and head tucked in. Upon touching it, I realized that the wings were movable and its head - which was tucked against its body - was also movable. It was lax and soft, and very much a chibi-version of the animal.

I picked it up, smiling adoringly at it. I had always wanted a flying pet of my own. I never got one in my previous life because I already had cats (that apparently outlived me), and didn't want to risk harming the creature. That, and I only wanted a specific kind of animal that you couldn't exactly buy in a petstore.

I wondered idly if I would be able to have my own pet bat in this world.

Turning back to Tsunade, I held up the bat, smiling shyly.

"A stuffed bat, huh?" Tsunade asked, picking it up from my hands and grabbing my hand with her other hand. "Hmm..."

After purchasing the creature, I held it tightly against me with my right arm, and continued to hold Tsunade's hand with my left hand.

"It's about time to find something to eat, don't you think, Naasica?"  
Nodding my head, I glanced about.

"I think I know just the place to treat you two lovely ladies!"

With a snarl, Tsunade snapped her head around the rather empty street. There, standing completely relaxed with a cocky grin, was Jiraiya.

"Don't you even think about it, Jiraiya," Tsunade growled. "I told you already that this was my day off. I've decided to devote this day to my little cousin, and you damn straight are not going to butt in and corrupt her."

Jiraiya grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "Oh, come on. Me? Corrupt such a sweet little girl? Don't be ridiculous. I only want to escort such pretty ladies to a divine restaurant that recently opened up."

Tsunade pulled me behind her, facing Jiraiya square on. "Get. Lost."

Jiraiya pouted before he smirked. Faster than what I could follow, he had appeared before me and picked up my pet bat from my hands and kneeled in front of me. He held the bat out to me and in a squeaky voice he said, "Come on, Naasica. Don't you want to eat lunch with your cousin's best friend?"

"You are not my best friend and give me that toy, now," Tsunade demanded.

I was uncomfortable with the situation. Mostly at the fact that Jiraiya was holding my new toy without permission and the childish side of me demanded he released it. The other part was that - _I had never been introduced to Jiraiya before._ So essentially, as far as I was concerned, a complete stranger had waltzed up and grabbed my toy right out of my hands.

Shifting, I fiddled with my fingers. How did a normal child react to the situation? Moreover, how was I supposed to react? I know I had been perceiving myself as a normal child (normal being a child that refused to speak, and that was more intelligent... however given my family and the lack of reactions, I assumed it was completely normal, if not expected, for children to be bright in the clan. The silence was a bit odd, but the clan was known for its quirks, as well), but how was I supposed to react? I knew Jiraiya meant well, but I wasn't supposed to know that.

I chose instead to hold out my hand to him, silently asking for him to place my bat back.

He gave me a blank look, and scratched his chin, confusion clear in his eyes.

I bit my lip when I realized that only Tsunade and Grandmother could know my silent gestures. They had been accustomed to my silence from the start and knew how to read me.

"She wants you to give her back her new toy," Tsunade muttered, glaring at Jiraiya. "And you better, before I kick your ass."

"Why doesn't she just ask?" Jiraiya retorted.

"She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to," Tsunade snarled, balling up her fist and I saw Jiraiya flinch. Suddenly uncomfortable with the idea of Tsunade hurting Jiraiya, just because he couldn't understand me, I gave a small squeak.

"P-Please," I said, stumbling over the word. It was foreign on my tongue. I rarely spoke out loud, and it had been a long time since I had... and it would have been the first time I had done so in front of Tsunade. Due to the lack of speaking (and thus lack of practice of the strange language), I sometimes stumbled over words or sounds.

Tsunade's eyes widened and her fist sagged. She stared at me in disbelief and Jiraiya beamed at me. He promptly handed me back my bat. "Can do, kiddo."

"You... you spoke," Tsunade said, staring at me in disbelief.

I shrugged.

"... Is that a big deal?" Jiraiya asked incredulously.

Tsunade gestured wildly to me. "She has never spoken before. It's her first word!"

"Is not," I muttered.

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up.

"Grandmother makes me speak. She says it's a necessary tool, and so long as I can use it, I am supposed to."

"Why didn't you speak in front of me before?" Tsunade sighed.

"I didn't need to. You understood me," I mumbled.

Tsunade smiled. "Oh, is _that_ your excuse? Honestly, Naasica..."

I shifted again, patting my stomach. Tsunade glared at me. "Oh, no. Now that I know you can speak, you're going to have to. I want to hear my cousin's voice, got it, brat?"

Glaring at her, I hugged my bat closer to me. "... Fine. I... I am hungry. M-May we please eat? I don't care where. A-And... who are you?"

The two adults blinked in surprise before Jiraiya gave me a sheepish look and Tsunade chuckled.

"That's right. I hadn't introduced the two of you... Naasica, this is my comrade, Jiraiya. Jiraiya, this is my youngest cousin, Naasica."

I held out my hand and Jiraiya took it dramatically, dropping into a very low bow, while he still kneeled. "A pleasure, Naasica-hime."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Jiraiya-san," I whispered quietly, tugging on his sleeve. The very restaurant he had bragged about was Ichiraku (which wasn't surprising). I sat in between the two adults, my own bowl of ramen half eaten in front of me. Tsunade glanced over at me, while Jiraiya looked down.

"Aw, drop the san, please, Naasica-hime. What can I do for you, hime?"

I pointed past him.

He didn't turn around. "He's starting to bother you now, isn't he? Minato, quit creeping out the cute little girl! Get in here."

A blond man with bright blue eyes entered the stand, giving Jiraiya a sheepish look. "I'm sorry, sensei. I was hoping to grab your attention without disturbing Tsunade-sama or your little friend."

Jiraiya dismissed his worries with a wave of his hand, and Minato took a seat next to him.

"Sensei?" I echoed.

"Technically not anymore," Jiraiya said, yawning. "Minato's a regular Jounin and will be applying for his own apprentice and team soon enough."

I gave a curious look over to Minato, offering him a smile. Minato blushed in embarrassment at me, smiling. "Hello. I don't think we've been introduced before, huh? I'm Namikaze Minato."

"Senju Naasica," I returned. "You seem like you'll make a good sensei."

He blushed again, rubbing the back of his head in a sheepish manner. "Thank you, Naasica-chan. Will you be entering the academy this year?"

"She's two," Tsunade snorted. "She'll enter when she's four, no sooner."

Minato ducked his head. "Oh. Sorry. I would have thought you were older."

I smiled at that.

Jiraiya affectionately ruffled my hair. "You've got a good eye, chibi-hime."

"You must be a good sensei, too, Jiraiya-san."

"Drop the san," Jiraiya whined.

"Well, he's not the worst," Tsunade sniffed, "but anyway, I didn't know you were applying for a student, Minato."

Minato nodded his head, smiling. "I won't actually qualify for another four years... I need to have a set amount of time working as a solo Jounin."

"Maybe you can practice being a sensei to Naasica," Jiraiya joked and I tilted my head at that. I wasn't quite sure I would like that idea. I still wanted to continue training in private, yet... yet I didn't want to be deemed a prodigy and shipped off to the front lines without worry. Perhaps if I had the excuse that I had a trainer...?

_No._

There was a small voice in the back of my head. It screamed out the denial as firmly as could be. There was a gut instinct inside of me that seemed to scream that having Minato privately train me was a bad idea, and I had to agree. When you trained with someone, when you taught someone privately... you really got to know them. It would be inevitable that my intelligence would be found out, and it was just as possible that with prolonged exposure, I could slip up on something and if that happened...

I didn't care too much for a trip to the T&I.

And my gut seemed to be demanding the answer no. I didn't have much of a gut instinct in my previous life, so it was strange. Perhaps it was a sixth sense - how shinobi and kunoichi knew they were in danger, when their body tingled or they somehow knew senbon or kunai were flying towards them even though they couldn't see or hear it...

Minato laughed. "I think she's a bit too young to start training so soon!"

Jiraiya and Tsunade laughed at that, and I inwardly let out a relieved sigh.

However... a thought formed in my head. "... What would you do, um, if your student had too much chakra?"

Minato glanced over at me, frowning thoughtfully. Tsunade casted me a sympathetic look. "That's right... because of our genes, we're kind of stuck with too much chakra."

"Let's see... practice is key, of course. It'd be best to start with easier things... I wouldn't suggest starting off with fine-tuning control, like the leaf exercise - an exercise where you channel your chakra into a leaf and repel or stick it to you. That would come later... I would probably start off with chakra-forth and layering."

"What and what?" I blinked slowly, staring up at him blankly.

"Well, the leaf exercise is for those with smaller reserves," Jiraiya interjected, "It requires very little chakra to use, so those with larger chakra reserves, the harder to use. Chakra forth is literally calling your chakra forth, like this..."

Jiraiya held up his hand and in a matter of seconds it glowed a pale blue, the chakra around his hand lapping about. "Then you layer it."

His chakra, which had been moving like waves crashing against each other, suddenly stilled and dulled, hugging tighter around his skin until it was a perfectly smooth layer. "Then when you have a smooth layer, you add a second layer on top of it, without disrupting the first layer... it would roughly be the equivalent of balancing a second leaf on your finger. After you get up to five layers on one hand, you move on and try both hands... after that, you can choose where to go from there."

"... What do you mean?" I asked hesitantly.

Tsunade smiled and held up her index finger. It glowed a dull blue, signalling a single layer was wrapped exclusively around that finger. "You can either fine-tune your control and work on wrapping your chakra around individual fingers, or you can move on to tree-walking, which requires roughly the same control as holding three layers on both hands."

"... How is that any easier than the leaf-exercise?"

"It requires more chakra for one thing," Minato said. "And it's more open to error from the start, whereas in the leaf-exercise, if you mess up, you mess up immediately."

"Oh," I said, making a mental note to starting using this exercise immediately.

"Why? Looking to start early?" Tsunade teased and I shook my head, falling into silence.

I had no reason to speak anymore.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Well, I hope we get the chance to see each other again," Jiraiya told me. Tsunade was carrying me in her arms again, and Minato and Jiraiya stood before us.

Nodding my head, I smiled brightly.

Jiraiya affectionately patted my head before Tsunade pulled me away from him, glowering. "Keep your lecherous paws off my cousin!"

"I'm not a pedophile!"

Tsunade sneered. "Oh? Then you won't mind telling me the age difference of you and the girls you chase after?"

Jiraiya muttered under his breath before huffing and storming away. Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"Ah, well it was nice meeting you, Naasica-hime. Good luck when you decide to start training," Minato said, winking. I smiled in return.

Once he left, Tsunade lifted me up to look at her at eye level. "Hmph. Can't believe you could talk this entire time, you brat. Alright, let's get you home, ne?"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

My hand glowed blue as I tried to smooth out the chakra flow outside. I watched the blue chakra waver and shift and as I willed it to quiet down, it fluctuated. Sweat dotted my brow, and my hand shook. Minutes ticked by until I was finally able to smooth out my chakra.

I held it for a total of ten seconds before I had to relax, wiping away my sweat and breathing heavily. It was a strain, a huge, mental, tiring strain. I gave a strangled cough, trying to even my breath. Channeling so little chakra when every fiber of my being demanded I channeled more was a constant tug of war; it was four-hour long exams over material you didn't even understand: painful, draining, and humiliating.

I had thought it would be easy, but I was wrong. It would be hard to bring myself to continue something that I disliked so much.

Yet...

Yet it was that, or death for myself, and if I died... I would have failed.

I hated failing.

Maybe I was just a sore loser, but the prospect of failing (especially when it meant death) irked me so much.

"Damn it," I said softly, closing my eyes. "Damn it, damn it, damn it."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

My hand shook and my knees ached, but Grandmother remained perfectly poised as she mimicked my position. In front of me was a long strip of parchment, and in my hands I held a delicate brush. Ink coated the bottom of the brush and I meticulously moved the brush across the parchment.

The calligraphy lesson seemed on-going in my mind. Endless. Eternal. Quiet.

In some cases, it was tedious and I had to struggle to hold my attention to it. In other cases, though, I was lucky enough to slip into a sort of trance and absent-mindedly do the work. It was comforting when I did that. Normal. Repetitive.

"When will Tsunadenee-chan be home?" I asked suddenly, resting my brush.

"She should be home within the month," Grandmother said softly, before she coughed. Immediately, I turned towards her, my eyes widening and hands reaching out. Her coughing fit was over, though, and she only wheezed at me. I gripped her arm, looking up at her.

"I am fine, Naa-chan," Grandmother said gently, smiling warmly at me, but it was a weak smile; strained.

I lowered my eyes.

I knew that she would be dead soon. It never specified the time that she had died, and it didn't specify when exactly Kushina received the Kyuubi from my grandmother. I had assumed that she received it when she was young - still a child, almost, but seeing how my grandmother was still alive and Minato was a young man, proved that assumption wrong. Now, though...

Now I knew she would be passing on.

She was sick and old, and lately she had been overcome with coughing fits. Some of them left her out of breath to the point where she fell to the ground. The ANBU that were stationed outside and around our compound - we were one of the founders, it was only natural that the Hokage provided us with protection... considering how we could no longer properly defend ourselves without Tsunade around. Or at least I couldn't. Perhaps Grandmother could pull a Chiyo and put up a hell of a fight, but I wasn't too sure. We had medical-kunoichi ANBU that was constantly stationed nearby. Two actually, because they switched shifts.

Regardless, she was reaching her time.

And I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

I had dealt with grief before; I had lost parental figures before, cousins and friends... it wasn't a new thing, but each time it came to me, I was unsure of how to approach it. Here was this graceful woman had who had raised me in this lifetime. She was very much a maternal figure for me, and I had sincerely grown to love her fiercely. The fact that she would no longer be at my side for much longer... I could already feel my heart circumscribe and my throat tighten as I struggled to catch my breath.

Part of me felt guilty for my grief - she wasn't dead, yet, was she? So why was I preparing myself already? - Because I knew it wasn't what she would have wanted. Another part of me felt disgusted with myself. I couldn't stand tears, least of all in myself. I hated the weakness, the confusion and admission of such a pathetic moment. Especially in a world where it really was the strongest who survived. I didn't want to paint myself as someone weak; regardless of the reasons.

Yet I couldn't help it. I didn't want her to leave me, it ate up at me that she would.

And it broke my heart that there wasn't anything I could about it.

"I think I could go for some spicy food right about now," Grandmother said, slowly standing up. "Come, Naa-chan. We can continue your calligraphy lesson later."

Grabbing her soft hand, I nodded my head in agreement. With a quiet giggle, Grandmother began to guide me through our home to the kitchen.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I relaxed my body, wiping the sweat off my forehead. It had been a handful of months since I started the new training regime and I could now layer with both hands - although I lost focus when I reached the third layer on my second hand. I was no longer sore in the morning afterwards, and I actually found myself enjoying my 'yoga'.

Still didn't like my chakra training, though.

I estimated a couple more weeks before I felt confident enough to begin tree walking - although it would be more like wall walking in my case. Another month or so and I would be ready to start the next level of taijutsu training.

Standing up, I changed out of my pajamas and slipped into my day clothes. I left my room, intent on finding Tsunade or Grandmother.

Tsunade was the first to be found. I entered the library, and she looked up at me. She rubbed tiredly at her eyes. "... Wha' time is it?"

"Morning," I mumbled, heading towards her. She had notes spread out around her, and books upon books stacked behind her. It seemed she had spent another night reviewing her medical training.

She gave me a smile before lifting me up and setting me in her lap. She hugged me tightly.

"Why are you hugging me?"

"Do I need a reason?" Tsunade mumbled into my hair.

Choosing not to respond to that, I asked instead, "Are you hungry?"

"I could eat," Tsunade said, yawning. She leaned back, toppling over her books as she laid down in the pile. I turned in her lap and laid on top of her, closing my eyes and listening to her heartbeat.

Was there anything more comforting than a heartbeat?

Tsunade ran her fingers through my hair. "I'm not heading out for a couple days. Is there anything in particular you'd like to do, Naa-chan?"

"Na-uh," I grunted.

"Really? Ah, well, let's get something to eat. Then I think I'll go ahead and take a nap..."

"Can I join you?"

Tsunade smiled softly at me. "Of course, Naa-chan."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Well, well, hello there."

Jiraiya stood before me, grinning lecherously. He squatted down to my level.

I waved my fingers in hello and he rolled his eyes. "Back to not speaking, are we?"

I smiled.

Jiraiya puffed out his cheeks in a manner that reminded me of a toddler. He let them out with a loud breath and ruffled my hair. "Oh well, at least you're pretty cute."

I blushed at that, giggling nervously and backing away.

"Now what did Tsunade say to have you convinced that a comment like that from me was bad?" Jiraiya asked rhetorically, actually looking partially offended.

Shrugging sheepishly, I scratched the back of my head.

"Tch. You better not be hitting on my little sist - cousin. My cousin," Tsunade snapped, appearing at the doorway. "Thank you for answering the door, Naa-chan. Why don't you head back to your lesson with Obaa-chan?"

I lifted my arms up to her and Tsunade immediately bent down to me. I kissed her cheek goodbye before heading off. I wouldn't be seeing her for a week or so, depending on how the mission went.

Grandmother was in her room, resting in her bed. Today she wasn't able to bring herself out of bed, and not wanting to add any extra strain to her, I offered to take my lessons in her room. She agreed and I set up the calligraphy set and pulled out some cushions. When I entered the room again, she was sleeping soundly.

Tiptoeing lightly across the room, I peered at her another moment or two - just making sure that she was only sleeping. Satisfied she was, I took a seat and set back to work.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Time passed in such a strange manner for me then. Weeks blurred into months so easily. Since discovering my position, for the first time I had found myself content with it. My training was progressing at a nice rate, and I planned on finding out my natures and deciding my first ninjutsu soon. Granted, it would be a small one, regardless. Manipulation, to be exact, but more on that when I actually reached that stage.

I had a small family, true, and I wasn't allowed outside of the compound. However, it was a tightly-knit family. Even in my previous life, I hadn't had such a bond. And I knew it couldn't last forever - nothing could - but I didn't seem to mind the thought so much. I had these moments with them now, and I needed to cherish them now.

Besides, it seemed fine. Everything seemed fine. Dan was still alive - I had met him a handful of times with Tsunade - and I suspected he wouldn't die for a while. Grandmother was strong and while I knew she would die, I also knew it wouldn't be for a long time.

I was... content.

"Is that rain, Naa-chan?"

I looked out of the window from Grandmother's bed. I was reading to her. She had kept her eyes close, telling me that she was happy to just listen.

Rain gently tapped away against the window, the curtains covered it, though, so I couldn't actually see the rain.

"I think so," I said.

She opened her eyes, dragging her pupils slowly towards the window. "Be a dear..."

Not needing her to say anything more, I crawled out of her bed and crossed the room. I pulled the curtains apart, and I found myself staring at a gray sky. There was no lightning or storm, just rain falling to the ground.

"It's been awhile since we've had such a soft rain," Grandmother whispered.

Not responding, I tried to recall the last time Konoha had ever had a 'soft' rain. I couldn't find any such memories.

"It must have been... it must have been when Hashirama and I..." Grandmother trailed off, her eyes fluttering close and a smile finding its way on her lips.

"... You and... Oji-san...?"

"Aa," Grandmother said quietly. "I haven't... I haven't spoken about Hashirama with you often, have I? I apologize, precious one. Come... sit with me. I will tell you a story."

Obediently, and anxiously, I climbed into bed. She opened her eyes and lifted up her arm. Taking the hint, I curled up against her, allowing her to drape her arm over me.

"We first met under a soft rain..." Grandmother began.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Tsunade would be returning home soon, again.

In between my two fingers, I held chakra paper.

After I determined my nature, the scroll instructed me that the next step would be basic manipulation. For instance, a fire nature would take a candle, and see if they are able to manipulate their chakra to have the fire grow stronger, or smaller. They would hold their hands over the flame, exerting their chakra and wrapping it around the flame to gain control. In some cases, if you didn't have the materials, you could try the basic change of nature.

This would be allowing your chakra to flow freely from your hand - your hand because your hand is where your strongest chakra points were, where you could manipulate chakra the easiest. Changing your chakra nature is an innate ability - wind users instinctively know how to sharpen their chakra, it's just a matter of consciously recognizing that ability and bringing it forth. However, if you were capable of deeper meditation, you could allow your subconscious to manipulate your chakra while you were still conscious enough to recognize what you were doing.

Then after repetitive use, you would get a better feel for what you were doing and you could bring forth your chakra consciously, without needing to slip into meditation.

That is what I planned on doing.

Anxiously, I gripped the paper and channeled a portion of chakra into it.

Neatly split in two, half of it water, the other half earth.

I felt confused for a moment, before I recalled that I was still Hashirama's descendant and that Tsunade had the same nature-type. It wasn't so off base that I had a double affinity, as well.

Although, I was curious to which nature would be dominate - which nature would my chakra lean towards when I slipped into meditation?

I folded up the chakra paper and threw it away before I sat against the wall of my room, closed my eyes and relaxed.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I opened my eyes.

My right hand felt weird, stiff and awkward. I assumed that I had an earth-nature dominant chakra, and that I had consequently turned my exerted chakra into mud or dirt. The process was an odd thing. The best way to describe it would be like taking off a really soft sweater and running it across your bare skin.

I looked down.

I started hyperventilating.

_Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God._

No. No. No. No. No.

 _Nonononononononono,_ please don't do this to me. I hadn't been nearly so bad as to deserve this.

Tears pricked my eyes and panic was bubbling inside of me. I scrambled up from my spot, staring in horror at my hand.

No. No. I did not want this.

No.

_Oh my God. Oh my God. Orochimaru is going to kidnap me. Oh my God. Oh my God. ROOT is going to kidnap me. Danzo is going to kidnap me. I'm going to get killed then be dissected. Oh my God. OmiGodomiGodomiGod!_

A wooden hand stared back at me and I shook my head, denial wanting to burst through my lips. No. No. No. No!

I was shaking, frantically looking around. No one saw, right? No one saw, _right?!_ Oh _fuck,_ oh _fuck-fuck-fuckity-fuck!_

__

__

How the hell do I turn this back?!

I was starting to get lightheaded and dizzy and there was a faint ringing noise in the back of my head. I had to get this off. I couldn't let anyone see. I didn't want anyone to see. They would use me. I would be sent off to the front lines.

I would be kidnapped and poked and prodded at. I would be a tool and my free will would become nonexistent. I couldn't - that just - that wasn't right -

I had to get rid of it. Get rid of it. Getgetgetridrid _getridofit_ -

My eyes landed on a kunai that rested on my bed and I dove for it. My left hand shook and I could feel tears falling down my eyes. My vision was blurry now, and I had to sniffle back in the snot because I could feel the sobs building up in my chest, but I didn't dare voice them. I couldn't risk drawing attention to myself. I couldn't - I just -

I jammed the kunai down into my wooden hand, feeling both horrified and relieved that I didn't even feel it.

With frantic vigor, I started hacking away at wooden hand, chipping it off. I would burn the wood when I was done, throw it out back.

As for my hand? I would say it was an accident. I could live without a hand.

I could that. I could definitely do that. It would work out. _It had to!_

It was better... it was better...

No one could see. No one could know.

I didn't want to be in ROOT. Nor did I want to be experimented on by Orochimaru. Nor sent off to the front lines so soon.

_Hack, hack, hack._

Get rid of the evidence. No one could know. _No one could see!_

I managed to lob off the majority of my hand, before I had to stop and wipe at my eyes.

Shaking, I opened my eyes and prayed desperately for my hand to return to normal already. I wasn't entirely sure if I could safely hack off the rest of the wood without cutting into the actual flesh. Chakra fluctuated inside of me and my bottom lip trembled.

 _Come on, Naasica,_ I tried to coach myself. _Y-You remember how it went before. J-Just do it again. In reverse._

Taking a deep gulp of air, I tried to calm my breathing. Hiccups escaped my lips, and tears continued to fall. It seemed as if an hour passed by before my panic had subsided enough that I could think more clearly, and it was an hour before I was able to slip off into meditation again.

When I opened my eyes again from meditation, my hand had returned to normal - no signs of damage, actually - and I felt ashamed at my reaction.

Mostly ashamed at the fact that I had cried. I still felt sawing off my hand would have been perfectly reasonable if I couldn't manage to transform my hand back to flesh.

Could you imagine...?

Could you imagine having such an ability in the time of war? With ROOT in full-swing and Orochimaru prowling around?

It terrified me.

I couldn't trust the ANBU - _which one worked for Danzo, and which one didn't?_ \- so I couldn't be seen practicing by the ANBU. I couldn't turn to anyone, for who would I turn to? Tsunade? Grandmother?

Could I even trust them?

They were loyal to Konoha, weren't they? If they knew I had such an ability, wouldn't they tell Konoha? And Konoha... wouldn't Konoha then turn and try to use me?

I didn't...

No.

No.

I couldn't trust them.

The door opened and I jumped.

Tsunade peered in, frowning when she caught sight of me. "Naasica-chan?... I'm home. Hey, have you been crying? Naa-chan, what's wrong?"

She moved towards me quickly, concern in her eyes.

I licked my lips.

I smiled.

"Sorry. I was working on a wood sculpture with my kunai, but I got frustrated with it. I'll clean everything up later, okay? I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Tsunade stared at me another moment, eyeing the kunai and the wooden splinters. She smiled. "Alright, hey, want to get something to eat?"

"Yes, please."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The week afterwards was easily one of the most stressful times in both of my lives. I jumped too easily at the smallest noise, heart pounding, head spinning and frantic thoughts of I've been found out! I've been found out! I couldn't even bring myself to sleep at night, not on my own. I would lie awake in my bed, eyes wide, alert and focused on my surroundings, and I would be unable to bring myself to stop. I couldn't relax on my own, because I couldn't trust my own home anymore. ANBU prowled around, and Tsunade was so worried about me (my sunken eyes, pale skin, and how I flittered about) that she would scarcely leave me alone.

The only haven I held was in my Grandmother's room. She slept the majority of her time, and the ANBU kept their distance from her out of respect. Tsunade didn't even enter her room without her permission. But I did. Truth be told, aside from myself, I was certain only one other person saw Grandmother regularly. A young woman with fiery red hair that every time she came around, I scuttled away so I never actually met her. It seemed, though, that the young woman knew Grandmother would be passing on soon, so she had to be on hands at all time in preparation.

Grandmother did not mind me hiding in her room, didn't even mind me sleeping in her room. I even started training in her room (yoga only, I was too wary of chakra).

It was nerve-wracking, that week. It was horrible and long and painful. I wanted to run away. I wanted to pack all my things and flee that village, but that wasn't an option. Where would I go? I was too young; my body too immature and my skills too low to properly defend myself. I couldn't even escape Konoha in the first place.

I was a Senju. One of the last three. I would be guarded zealously, kept tight under lock and key.

It was suffocating already and then...

And then I had to go and have his genes. His mutation. Because wasn't that what it was supposed to be? Just a fluke? A mutation? What did I have that Tsunade didn't? What made me so unlucky?

I was trapped. Thoroughly and efficiently.

And yet...

 _Yet it wasn't so terrible,_ I thought to myself, watching Grandmother sleep soundly. _My options may be limited, but that's the way it's always been. I can't really complain, and so long as I don't advertise my ability, they won't find out. And... and I have family who love me. I may not... I may not trust them right now, but... but they still love me and I still love them._

Holding up my hands, I laid back in Grandmother's bed, curling up against her warmth. She continued to sleep soundly, her breath coming out evenly. I flexed my fingers, looking at them as if they were alien appendages.

_When I tried to call up a single nature, I ended up using my wood-style. I can't recall Hashirama using any other nature-ninjutsu aside from his wood-style, and things related to it. Could it be that's part of the issue? Am I doomed to only being able to use wood-style? Or do I just need to learn to differentiate earth and water chakra from wood chakra?_

I lowered my hands, resting them on my stomach and closing my eyes.

_If that's the case then... I'll need... I mean I'll have to learn to control it. At least enough so that way I can use earth and water nature separately, otherwise... Otherwise when I finish the academy and my sensei starts instructing me in ninjutsu..._

Already, I could feel the panic and resentment rising inside me, ready to boil over in a mass of fear and rage, but I couldn't release that emotion. I was not allowed to. It would be too risky, too dangerous, and too inappropriate.

I had to wear my mask. I could not let anyone see me - not ever. I had to smile.

 _It could be worse_ , I told myself.

But I couldn't see how.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Tsunade was not returning home.

Two weeks after I decided to begin training my chakra, the Sandaime came to our door. The ANBU opened it for him, and because Grandmother was too... tired... I had to keep him company.

He had sat across from me, his face hard and somber and nothing at all like he would (could?) be during Naruto's time. We were at war. There was no time for soft smiles, or jovial moods.

I was three and a quarter then. He knew that, but he treated me older. He must have known that I was intelligent. Tsunade often bragged about my intelligence, she said it was expected, of course, given my heritage. That she and her brother were the same, and Grandmother said it was only natural.

It was so strange. I wasn't even _five._

This world and my old world... there were so many different things. In a lot of ways, this world disgusted me. How they sent children out to the front line. How a six-year-old could become a Chūnin and kicked out to the front lines and forced to murder over and over again. It was a miracle that Kakashi was didn't experience any detrimental PTS in his later life. And Itachi...

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime of Konohagakure, told me, Senju Nassica, three year-old little girl, that I was now the heiress of the Senju Clan due to Senju Tsunade's abandonment of Konoha.

I noticed how he said abandonment instead of defection. As in, Tsunade was just out and ignoring us. That she hadn't betrayed us. That we weren't going to hunt her down like an animal.

Part of me was glad for that. I was relieved for the woman that I had come to love so dearly was going to be left alone to mourn. I was particularly thankful that the Sandaime was still soft enough to hold favorites for his student.

Another part of me was upset. _Betrayed_. I couldn't help but think; _How could you leave me here? How_ dare _you pass this responsibility to me._

The rest of me, though, just accepted the news.

I knew it was coming. It was unavoidable, actually. There was nothing I could do to prevent Dan's death - I didn't know when he would die. I didn't even know how (just that it was slow, bloody and cruel).

When the Sandaime finished explaining, I nodded my head, keeping my face carefully blank. I wasn't sure what expression I was to hold - should I be happy that she was safe? Should I be upset at her leaving? Or was it just expected of me, as heiress now, to just stoically accept this and move on with my life?

"If there is anything you or Mito-sama needs, please let me know," Sandaime said, his tone softening.

I almost said: _We don't need anything._

But, I stopped.

It would not due to throw away his words so quickly. I had to wear my mask for him, as it was my duty and obligation as heiress.

_Smile, smile, Naasica._

I considered his words.

"Obaa-chan... " I took a steadying breath. "Obaa-chan will not... will not be staying with us for much longer, will she?"

Another crack in his stoic facade. His eyes trailed down. "No."

"Where will I stay?"

He took a deep breath, and through the corner of my eyes, I noticed that the ANBU had stiffened.

"I have a son about your age, two sons, actually," Hiruzen said quietly, but his voice still echoed around the room. "You are of the prestigious clan, Senju, and as your Hokage, I am allowed to offer you a place to stay."

_Stay with the Hokage? In bustling house filled with servants and ANBU? I was lucky enough that the moment I didn't need a nurse-maid, Grandmother sent her away. She hated being waited on by servants, preferring her privacy, (hence why the ANBU respected her enough to keep their distance) and Tsunade had no patience for them. The ANBU stayed outside for the most part, so I was allowed the necessary privacy to train._

__

__

However, if I lived with the Hokage, that privacy would be nonexistent.

Remembering my manners, I bowed lowly, my forehead touching the floor and my hands spread out on either side of me. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but I respectfully decline. Like my Obaa-chan and Nee-chan, I prefer my privacy."

I raised my head and straightened up when I heard Hiruzen's quiet murmur, "I understand, and no offense is taken. However, given your age and your status, I cannot permit you to live on your own for the moment."

"Do you have anyone to suggest then?" I asked politely, curiosity in his answer, having me anxiously shift my position.

Hiruzen noticed and recognized my curiosity, and the rest of his facade was broken. He gave a slow, knowing smile. "I have quite a few people who would be honored to be the temporary ward for the Senju heiress."

 _Then spit it out!_ I wanted to say, curling my toes.

I could swear he wanted to chuckle at me.

"I will send over a list to you," Hiruzen said. "Perhaps Mito-sama could shed some light on a few people."

I bowed my head. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I will inform Obaa-chan of the situation when she is well-enough."

"See that you do."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Three days later, I lugged a large scroll into Grandmother's bed. She was awake and alert when the scroll first arrived, and I informed her about it. She instructed me to bring it to her, and I did just that.

She unsealed the scroll, holding it up and unrolling it. "Good grief."

I crawled into her bed, and she shifted to allow me to sit in her lap, so I could read the names, as well.

"Wow," I said, suddenly feeling intimidated at the long list of names.

"The majority of these are hoping to be your ward for political gain," Grandmother muttered, a fire lighting in her eyes. Frustration and anger radiated from her and it took her a couple heartbeats for her to steady her breathing. "If my clan were alive today, there would be no question to who you would go to, my precious one."

I leaned back into her, closing my eyes and breathing her familiar scent - soft rain. "Is there no other Uzumaki in Konoha?"

"There is," Grandmother murmured, "but I'm unsure if she would be up to the task of... Well. She has a good heart. If no one else, then she would be my choice."

"Inuzaka... family-oriented clan, isn't it?"

"Good heart in general," Grandmother allowed, "but they wouldn't be able to assist you in Senju and Uzumaki traits. They have no experience with sealing, and all of their ninjutsu is based around their canine partner."

"Akimichi... Mn. Same as the Inuzaka, right?"

"Correct," Grandmother said, before turning her head and coughing. I tensed, my body prepared to sprint outside and call for assistance, but her coughing subsided soon enough. "... Nara? Mn... a good clan, very bright and observant, and a massive library. They could assist you with sealing, but they've had no formal training as a whole. We can consider them..."

_A clan filled with observant geniuses. There would be no way I could hide anything._

"Yūhi? An aspiring genjutsu clan, no, no... Yamanaka? No... that won't do? Hyūga? Not even over my dead body. Uchiha? No. Aburame? Same issues with the Akimichi and Inuzaka. Sarutobi? You already declined them. Let's see... Hatake? Sakumo is a good man... a good shinobi, but he's a single parent, isn't he? Already having to raise one boy and while I heard this Kakashi boy is bright enough..." Grandmother trailed off, her eyes glazing over as she considered the Hatake family. "... but you wouldn't be a hassle, would you, Naa-chan? We can consider them with the Naras. Who else?"

And so it went on, two hours passed before we even neared the bottom. Three names caught our attention, though, and Grandmother had to laugh quietly at it.

"Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato," Grandmother read. "Orochimaru and Jiraiya are Tsunade's teammates - do you remember them, Naasica?"

I did, but fear at seeing Orochimaru as even an option kept my tongue for a moment.

"I do," I managed. "I don't... I really don't like Orochimaru-san."

Grandmother giggled and she bent down to whisper in my ear, "I don't, either."

Relief fell through me and I relaxed. "Jiraiya-san is a good man, as is Minato-san."

"Aa. Both are capable, too. Very well, we can consider them, too..."

In the end we had it narrowed down to Kushina, the Naras, Jiraiya, Minato and the Hatakes."

"Do you have a preference for any of these, Naa-chan?"

_The Naras are a definite no. I don't want to deal with a suicidal man, nor am I certain I could handle a rule-obsessed Kakashi. Kushina is possible, not only because she's had training in seals, but she's less-likely to be so observant of me. She'll be preoccupied with her new status as a jinchuuriki, and juggling missions. More often than not, I'll be left alone. The same could be said for Minato, and while I'm sure both of them are intelligent and observational enough, they weren't renowned for it._

__

__

However, Minato may not take Kakashi in if he's already taken me in, and I don't want to risk that, so he's out. Jiraiya is possible too, but if I don't know when exactly he chooses to leave Konoha to become Konoha's spymaster. I thought it was some time around Orochimaru's defection and I don't know exactly when that's happening, so I would rather not risk Jiraiya being forced to stay in Konoha to care for me.

Which meant...

"Uzumaki-san," I said out loud. "... Jiraiya-san, if not her."

Grandmother gave a thoughtful hum. "Kushina is acceptable. Write a letter to the Hokage and inform him of our choice."

"Yes, Obaa-chan."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The letter was written and sent that very day, and the following morning Kushina herself arrived at the front door. She was nervous, even I could see that, and when I opened our door, she looked at me in surprise.

She gave me a warm smile and squatted down to look at me at eye-level. "Hello. You must be Naasica-chan. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Uzumaki Kushina, it's nice to meet you, dattebane!"

Kushina beamed at me, and I gave her a hesitant smile. Opening the door wider, I gestured her inside. "Hello, Kushina-san."

From habit and experience of entering the compound numerous times before, Kushina glided inside.

"I already have some tea made up. May I pour some for you?" I asked politely, keeping one hand behind my back to hide my stuffed bat. The creature was rarely seen without me, and Tsunade used to tease me endlessly about it. I wasn't quite sure how Kushina would handle it, so I opted to not give her the chance, yet.

"Oh. Polite, aren't you? I would love some tea, thanks," Kushina said, looking a bit nervous. I doubted she was used to being hosted by a three year-old and she wasn't quite sure if she expected to offer assistance, or if it would be considered rude.

Taking pity on her nerves I said, "I'm a bit too small to reach the counter easily. Would you please assist me, Kushina-san?"

Relief had her shoulders sag for a moment before she was up and brimming, pleased she could help. I had to hide my smirk. _Her emotions are too easily displayed._

Allowing me to take the lead, the two of us walked into the kitchen. Kushina had to think for a moment or two before she recalled where the cups were. Grabbing them from the top shelf, she quickly grabbed the hot pot before I could. She deftly poured the hot water into two cups and grabbed two tea bags, setting them inside.

"Is there anywhere in particular you would like to drink the tea, Naasica-chan?" Kushina asked brightly.

"Outside, if you don't mind, Kushina-san."

"It is awfully nice outside. That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'll grab the tea, if you don't mind."

Not verbally responding, I chose to instead head out of the kitchen, down the hall and out to our well-cared for garden. Grandmother normally paid fresh Genin to care for the garden as a D-Rank mission. I took a seat on a plush, large chair beneath the canopy. Kushina sat across from me and sat the two steaming cups of tea on the table.

"So," Kushina said, "Hokage-sama contacted me last night and told me about yours and Mito-sama's decision. I thought that, um, that you would prefer to live with me, dattebane."

Ah, she was nervous again. I watched as her eyes shifted between her lap and my own. She was moving, twitching, and there was a pleasant flush across her cheeks. She was flattered, that much was obvious. She was nervous, because she knew that this would technically be the first time we met too. She wanted my opinion of her to be acceptable - after all, if she was going to be the guardian of me, she wanted me to actually like her.

I already did, though. Even if I hadn't heard of her before, hadn't seen who she is, I would have already grown fond of her. The way she showed her emotions so blatantly, so honestly, was both endearing and warming. How she was actually nervous and worried about my opinion of her was humbling too. From the warmth in her eyes, I could tell right away that she had a big heart. Something you didn't normally see in shinobi and kunoichi.

She was a good woman, just as Grandmother had said.

I gave her a smile. It felt awkward on my face. I hadn't really smiled since Tsunade left.

Since Grandmothers started getting worse and I had been forced to start training to control... control my wood-style.

Something I still couldn't do. No matter how hard I tried, or how many scrolls I tore through, I couldn't differentiate my water and earth chakra from my wood chakra. It just blended together like one chakra. Almost as if I didn't have two chakra natures, that instead I just had one that was in a separate unit. It was both frustrating and fearful. Frustrating that I couldn't do it, and fearful that I couldn't do it. Perhaps I could plead that I just had no luck in controlling my massive reserves and be a taijutsu maniac like Gai or Lee, but I knew that wouldn't happen. I did not have the self-discipline to work as hard as either of those two, I wouldn't be able to keep up my form to handle that level of taijutsu. It just wasn't happening.

Maybe I could skip the ninjutsu area and work on genjutsu and seals. But, I knew seals would be hard work to learn (even if I was expected to learn it, due to my heritage), and genjutsu required finite control... Control I wasn't sure I was even physically capable of doing.

Kushina automatically smiled back.

"That's right," I said. "Obaa-chan thinks highly of you. I trust Obaa-chan's opinion, and after meeting you for myself, I've decided that I like you, too."

"So soon, dattebane?" Kushina blurted out, and I had to smile at her nervous-yet-excited verbal tick.

"You're an easy person to read," I pointed out.

She sighed, sagging. "So I've been told." She perked up. "But that means you approve, right?"

I dipped my head in agreement and she beamed. "That's great! I mean..."

I giggled. "I understand, Kushina-san. Thank you for agreeing to care for me."

"Happy to," Kushina chirped. "Would you prefer to stay at my place, or...?"  
Frowning, I tilted my head. "I prefer to stay in the compound, but..."

"No problem," Kushina said quickly. "I - "

"But," I continued pointedly, "I believe it would be better to keep the compound sealed away until I am capable to return to it on my own. I have... memories here. I am afraid that wh... when Obaa-chan leaves, I will be... reminded of them. I have already lost Tsunade-nee, and when I lose Obaa-chan..."

Falling silent, I looked down at my lap, where I had my bat. Kushina followed my gaze, her eyes settling on the stuffed creature.

"I understand," Kushina said softly. "I have an extra room at my place. Would you like to go furniture shopping...?"

"I'll pay for my own furniture, and Obaa-chan will discuss the monthly deposit with you," I responded. When Kushina appeared ready to object, I cleared my throat. "The Senju clan is a very wealthy clan, Kushina-san. I do not want to add any unnecessary burdens to you. If it bothers you so much, then you can strictly use the allowance for me."

"I just don't want you to think that I'm agreeing to be your guardian because of the money," Kushina admitted quietly.

"I don't, and Obaa-chan doesn't," I said.

Kushina smiled.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Kushina visited us daily, then. She stayed for long hours, and when Grandmother was awake, the three of us conversed (well, they conversed and I listened), but those times were few and far. It was nearly time, I knew.

And I couldn't quite decide how I felt about it.

Grandmother ran her fingers through my hair, brushing back a few stray locks. "Naasica-chan, what do you want to be when you grow up?"  
I blinked in surprise at her question, lowering the scroll I had been reading out loud to her. "What?"

"I wanted to be a seal-master," Grandmother said patiently. "I am proud to say I have reached my dream, but what is yours, precious one?"

"I... do not have one."

She smiled serenely at me. "You will find one, then."

Unsure of how to respond, I only nodded my head. Silence fell in the room, and I looked back down at the scroll.

"Do you know what a jinchuuriki is?"

My head snapped up, eyes widening in mild disbelief. "What?"

"It's illegal for me to tell you," Grandmother said, her eyes focused on something beyond me - she saw straight through me. "However... However life is already unfair for you, my grandchild. I do not want you to be so left in the dark when I am gone and while Kushina is a remarkable young woman... she is not direct family. I want you to understand, Naasica-chan, that I will choose the day I die."

I stilled, shock at her statement causing words to escape me.

"Many decades ago," Grandmother said, "Hashirama and a man by the name of Uchiha Madara entered battle. It was a long and grueling battle, something I hope you never have to experience. Madara had called forth one of the bijuu, the fox. In order to prevent the fox from going on a rampage - because Hashirama was occupied with Madara - I used my sealing capabilities and sealed the creature inside of myself. That is what a jinchuuriki is, Naasica. We are the wards of the bijuu.

"When I die, the beast will be released and I cannot allow that - not when it would wreck havoc on this beautiful village. Not when it would wreck havoc on my family. That is why Kushina has been visiting me before. I have chosen her to be the next ward of the fox. When I am ready, Naasica, I will be escorted out of the village with Kushina and the bijuu will be extracted from me and placed into Kushina."

"Is that how it goes?" I whispered, feeling a strong sense of loathing at the situation.

"In most cases the bijuu would need to be placed inside a newborn, but because of our Uzumaki genes, we are capable of holding the bijuu with our chakra networks fully developed," Grandmother responded. "Kushina will become the new ward, and I will die."

I lowered my head, my hands curling into fists. My emotions were thrown into turmoil and I felt physically sick. "Do you... have you decided when...?"

"One week."

I had to bite down on my tongue to keep from crying out.

"There, now, sweet one. Do not waste your tears on me."

Grandmother gently lifted my head to meet her eyes. There was no fear, no resentment, no distaste. There was only acceptance and warmth in her eyes.

I was going to miss those eyes.

Taking a steadying breath, I smiled at her.

_Smile, smile, Naasica._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I was not prepared for her to leave.

At the end of the week, after that impossibly long short week - _surely it was only a day, surely she wasn't leaving me so soon_ \- I dressed in a black kimono. Grandmother was dressed in white, and she moved slowly through the house, to the door.

She was holding my hand.

I was squeezing hers, trying hard to still the shakiness inside of me.

Grandmother stopped at the door, the wide open door. I saw Kushina outside, dressed in black, along with numerous ANBU and the Hokage. The clouds were oppressive above us, dark and looming. She stopped at the large front door and turned to me. She smiled at me. "This is where we must separate, Naasica."

I swallowed roughly, my eyes glassy. Grandmother knelt in front of me, her eyes warm with love. "I love you. Always remember that."

"I love you, too," I whispered thickly. "I..."

_Please don't leave me. Please don't go. Don't abandon me in this mess. I need you. Please!_

She brushed back a stubborn bang from my face. "Sweet one... do not join me for a long time, alright?"

"I won't let you down," I whispered, closing my eyes.

I refused to watch her leave.

I knew that if I did, I would my composure.

I was heiress to the Senju Clan, last member in Konohagakure.

I was not permitted to show weakness.

_Smile, smile, Naasica._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The ANBU were not watching me. For the first time in a long time, I was completely without supervision. I knew they were allowing me privacy - they understood I could not properly mourn with them around. In most circumstances, I would be grateful for their absence, but I found that I could bring myself to care too much for anything.

After sitting still on my bed for a couple hours, doing nothing bust are up at the ceiling, I finally decided to leave.

It would be the fourth time I left the compound, but unlike the other times, I would not accompanying anyone, nor would I be informing anyone of my absence. For the moment, I just wanted to fade away into the world, and not have to think too hard on anything.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I had chosen to stay in a tree, a little in a small park.

_"Your grandfather actually made a tree for me. It was a beautiful thing, twisted and curved into a work of art," Grandmother said, smiling. "I would sit in it for hours on end, daydreaming of the next time Hashirama would be returning to the Uzumaki compound."_

My hands rubbed across the bark gently. _If I made a tree for you, would you stay in that tree and watch over me, Grandmother?_

I closed my eyes, biting my bottom lip and resting my forehead against the tree.

_No. No, I couldn't ask you. You deserve to be with Grandfather, not stuck watching over someone like me._

I was shaking then, and tears fell out against my will.

_I hate you for leaving me._

__

__

But I love you anyway.

Somehow, I had fallen asleep like that. Night had fallen and I knew the ANBU would be looking for me. Tiredly, stiffly, I climbed out of the tree and dropped to the ground. Turning around, I prepared to head home when a sharp pain entered the back of my skull.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

My eyes flew open, adrenaline coursing through me and I looked around wildly. I was in the back of some form of cart, and we were moving quickly. I was bound and gagged, but from the way I could still feel my chakra thrumming through me, I knew I did not have a chakra-suppressant seal on my bindings.

There were two others in the cart with me, but there was too poor lighting to properly see them.

"Well, looks like the Senju prize is awake," snickered one of them.

I stilled, listening intently and trying to see if I recognized his voice.

"Shuddup, you idiot. Knock her out. We're not clear from Konoha, yet."

The first one snickered again, a wheezy laugh. "Heh. Right, right. How much you think she'll fetch on the market?"

My blood ran cold.

_Slavers._

Before I could make another move, or even finish my thought, I was knocked out again.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I awoke for the second time to hear the screams and cries of battle. The cart had been thrown off to the side, and the others weren't around. I could hear the crackling of fire above me, followed by lightning.

Someone attacked the caravan.

Wiggling around, I took control of my chakra. Turning my hands into wood, I twisted and control my wooden hands to sharp and saw through the cloth that bound me. After that, I ripped off the cloth on my mouth, and sawed through my feet boundings.

Shakily, I stood up and slipped out of the cart, not paying mind to the bloody battle. We were in a forest.

I looked around, my eyes scanning the area quickly to see if there were any other victims. Not finding any, I turned on my heel and sprinted into the forest.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Heart pounding, I stumbled along the roots and undergrowth. I knew that the caravan was so very far out of sight, then. I could feel the thrum of forest around me, the natural swirl of chakra that wrapped around me. As I advanced further through the forest, I could feel the chakra almost slowing, dulling, darkening, as if something else was sucking away at it.

And as I wobbled on, I could feel a strange familiar sense to where I was. It was strange, as I was certain I wasn't in any key event - I wasn't near Konoha, nor any of the other shinobi villages, so I was confused as to what it meant. My foot tripped on another root and I fell to the ground.

Wincing, I rubbed at my chin - as I had landed on my chin, but thankfully I had relaxed my jaw in time and my tongue was safely tucked in the back of my mouth during the fall. I could feel my stomach drop as I stood back up.

It was almost pointless, wasn't it? When the bandits finished destroying the caravan, they would come looking for me.

_Unless it really was just a random attack. Not hired mercenaries sent out to kidnap or kill me. Maybe I'm just being self-centered and paranoid._

I sincerely hoped that was the case.

Nevertheless, onwards, I pressed. Finally... Finally...

I fell through a hole.

Well, it wasn't so much that, as I tripped (again), and stumbled down into a covered hole, and rolled down a dark, rocky hill, to the bottom. Which seemed to be the entrance to a familiar cave.

I sat up, eyes wide and heart in throat as I stared up at the light that trickled in from above me. It was too high up for me to climb, and I didn't want to waste what precious energy I had to climb it (not to mention I still hadn't perfected the tree-climbing exercise, so...)

I turned my head in the direction of the darkness, swallowing roughly. I wobbled to my feet and moved towards it, deciding that if I couldn't escape the cave, I could at least hide in it until it was safe enough that I could escape.

I had to strain to see, all my other senses kicking into overdrive to compensate for my lack of sight. When I just couldn't take any more of the darkness (and I actually couldn't see the tiny pool of light I had come from), I reached into my pocket and pulled out my lighter stick. I snapped it in half, and with a crack, light bloomed around me.

I paled.

There, no more than seven meters, was a very familiar old man, sitting on a very familiar old chair, in a very familiar cave.

The man?

Uchiha Madara.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"... Hello," I whispered, feeling the cold thrill of fear coil inside of me.

Madara was staring blankly at me, his expression unreadable, but his eyes were squinted. Strained. Uncomfortable with the light.

I hid the light behind me, knowing that it didn't do me much good either way, and that it only bothered Madara. Still, I couldn't quite bring myself to put it out completely, yet, either.

"Hello," Madara rasped, his voice a low, tired, whisper.

I shifted to the balls of my feet. "... I'm Naasica."

"Hello, Naasica," Madara whispered.

Chills crawled up and down my spine when he said my name.

"... Are you okay?"

Madara gave a low, wispy, laugh. There was nothing malicious in it, and I felt myself oddly relaxing at it. I squeezed my light and buried it in my pocket, leaving us in relative darkness. Madara was still laughing by the time my eyes adjusted - just vaguely I could make out his figure.

"Are you?"

"I don't know," I responded, my voice quiet. My feelings were in jumbles. I was still panicked over the attack, thankful for it in the same instant, but meeting Madara... it threw me out of the loop. I thought that all I had to do to change the future was to keep Obito from falling in love with Rin. It seemed so simple, so perfect. I couldn't keep either of them from dying for certain - too many variables, but I could prevent Obito from falling obsessively in love with the girl. But meeting Madara...

He didn't seem so evil, then. He just seemed like a tired old man who wanted to change the world.

I shifted again, taking a hesitant step towards him. "... What may I call you?"

"... It doesn't matter."

Deciding not to press that response, I whispered, "Surely you have a name."

"Names are trivial things. They fade away with time, losing their meaning," Madara responded, and I took a couple steps closer.

_I wonder... is Zetsu around? Has he even been made?_

"Then what word would I use to refer to you as? Jiji?"

Madara laughed again, that same, low and raspy laugh. "It doesn't matter."

Moving closer, I responded, "It does to me."

A heartbeat passed but then: "You may call me Ushinatta."

"Lost?" I echoed, taking a few steps towards him. "You're lost?"

"You could say that."

"But I found you. Do you not want to go home?"

He snorted. "I have no home."

I was close. A couple more steps and I would be able to reach out and touch him. "Are you lonely, then?"

"How old are you?"

"Four."

"You speak quite well for a four-year-old of this time."

"'Of this time?'" I quoted back.

"It would have been expected of you to act as such in my time," Madara responded, chuckling.

I took two more steps towards him. It was strange. So very strange. I must have gone insane, somehow. I was willingly moving towards him. Alone. In the dark. And no one knew where I was. I was completely helpless against the Uchiha Madara... and it was by choice. Yet... yet I wasn't bothered by it. At least, not in the way that you would assume. I was bothered that I wasn't bothered, but...

There was no malice from him. No malicious intent, no dark thoughts, or even a hint of scheming. He didn't ooze greed like my kidnappers, he didn't even seem overly concerned with me.

He was...

He was a tired old man.

And I... I felt drawn to him.

No. Not like that. He was tired and old, and I...

And _I_ felt tired and old.

I had been ready for peace. I had been ready to relax and sleep forever in that warm, comfortable place... no worries... no cares... But then _I had been ripped away from that._ That option was stolen from me, and I was forced into this... into this... hell hole.

Everyday, every _fucking_ day, it was all about the lying and fighting and the God-damned training. I had to fight every day just to survive - I wasn't even in the double-digits yet. I had to hide away from those who raised me, I had to train in secret because I was afraid my own village, my own supposed allies, would turn against me and use me for their own means. I had to lie to my own family because I was so damn paranoid, that I felt I couldn't trust anyone. And worse of all... at this point... I was absolutely right.

I was four years old... and I couldn't trust anyone.

Then there was the actual training... I trained and studied and worked my tiny little ass off because I had to just to _survive._

And why?

Why did I even bother trying? Why not just... give up...? Just go back to that warmth...? Forget everything?

But no.

No, no, no.

I wasn't that type of person.

I was born here. I hated it here. I hated it with such a passion... but the people... could I.... could I be so selfish that I would deny those people their chance? That I would turn my back to them, that I would essentially orphan a warm, bright-hearted boy, shatter the heart of another one, and watch as the ripple effect takes a place and everything just... everyone just... decayed?

Could I be so selfish... could I...?

I couldn't. No. I could... but I wouldn't. It wasn't who I was before, and it certainly isn't who I am now.

I hated the situation, that was true, but that didn't mean I would selfishly turn my back.

It was unfair, though.

So very unfair.

I reached out a hand, and my hand rested on top of his knee, and I closed my eyes, letting out a long, tired sigh.

"That is a very heavy sigh, for one so young," Madara observed.

And suddenly, it was just too much. The lies, the secrets, the training, the constant worry on if I would fail and if everything would be for naught and I would just die... again... the conspiracies, the future...

I dropped to my knees, bowing my head.

I was ready to stay blissfully asleep. I was _happy. I was happy!_ I had a good life before. I didn't want... I didn't want to be reborn. I didn't want this family. I didn't want this kekkei genkai. I didn't want any of it. So then why was it given to me? Was I just that unlucky? Did I just land in the wrong spot at the horribly wrong time? Did I screw up some time in my past life that I can't recall?

In the end... did it even matter?

Could I change the past? No.

Could I change the future? Maybe.

But it would be hard and painful and long and...

_... and I was already so very tired._

"Do not presume me to be so young," I whispered. "Do not presume that you are the elder, Uchiha Madara."

I was beyond caring at this point. It was just... too much. I just... I just needed to not care for a bit. Just a bit.

He did not react right away. He was too tired to care too much. He was curious, I was sure, but it wasn't a demanding need to be answered. "How old are you, then?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I rasped, then giggled. It was a high-pitched giggle. Frantic, almost.

"I have seen many things, one-who-is-not-a-child, very little surprises me," Madara responded.

I nodded at that. "Let's see... I was born in this body four years ago, but I lived until I was thirty. So... this year... I would be thirty-four."

Madara made a small noise, an acknowledging noise. "If you had told me about reincarnation decades ago, I would have dismissed you, but..."

I giggled. "I bet you're wondering how I know who you are, aren't you? I know more, too. I know about the Sage of Six Paths, the princess and the Juubi... has Zetsu been made, yet? The clones."

At that, Madara did stiffen, and shift. Silence pressed between us before he gave another, low, raspy, laugh. "You're right. I am curious to know how you know that. You are not Uchiha. You could not have read the tablet... and I know you are the first human to have stumbled across us in a very... very long time."

I lifted my head up, unable to make out his eyes, and I could only see the figure of his head. I placed my other hand on top of my hand that still rested on his knees. He couldn't see my face, I was pretty sure of that, so he couldn't see the bitter smile that crawled its way on my face.

"My past life. I know things from it. I know there's more to it, but does it matter? At this moment... does any of it matter?" I asked.

"That is something I ask myself often," Madara whispered.

"Have you ever been able to divulge an answer?"

"No. And that is why I am here. I must believe... I do believe that the answer will reveal itself to me."

"At least you have that," I reasoned.

"At least I have that."

Silence fell between us again and I felt a wave of fatigue press on me. It was easier to ignore it from the adrenaline I had felt from the attack, but here... after my tiring revelation...

"You are tired."

"I am always tired," I said quietly.

"You may rest here, if you wish," Madara responded. "It is not often that I get visitors."

"Thank you."

I closed my eyes and sagged.

My light went out.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I opened my eyes to darkness. It took time to readjust myself to what was transpiring around me, to where I was and whose lap I was curled up in. He probably didn't have the energy (or place) to put me anywhere else, and he didn't care too much for a four-year old sleeping on the cold floor at his feet... I assumed.

"You are awake."

"I am," I responded, my voice still quiet. "I thank you... I am grateful for not only your hospitality, but your ear."

It was true. I still needed time, though. I still needed to remain apathetic to everything for a while longer. I wasn't ready to face the cold world, yet. I wasn't ready to deal with all those lies again...

"You claim to know me, but you do not fear me," Madara observed.

"I fear you plenty, but not... not now. You can't use your Sharingan or Rinnegan, you're too old... too tired... to hollow. You're just an echo of what you were now, hooked up to the Gedo Statue... You could snap my neck, I suppose. Strangle me. Kill me in some other way, but... but I don't care. At this point... I don't care."

Madara gave a soft grunt. Just a soft one, because this darkness that pressed down on us seemed to demand silence, and it felt that if we spoke any louder... if we broke that silence anymore than necessary...

"Do you not have someplace to return to?"

"I do; but I don't think I am rea... I don't want to. I am tired of having to hide who I am," I whispered and smiled. I held up my hand to him and shifted. I grabbed his hand, his old, wrinkled hand, and placed it over mine. I felt the warm hum of chakra, and the odd tingling sensation I got whenever I used my kekkei genkai. My hand formed and shifted and became wood, no longer flesh.

Madara was quiet for a long, long time.

"You are the only Senju in your family since Hashirama to have been able to utilize this kekkei genkai."

"I am."

"You hide it."

"I do not want to be their tool."

"Everyone is someone's tool," Madara scolded me. "You cannot fight that."

"I do not want to be their tool."

"Then who's tool do you want to be?" Madara retorted.

"I don't know," I whispered.

"... You must be hungry," Madara said. "I had... Zetsu... fetch us some food. Go ahead and eat... You may stay here as long as you deem is necessary."

"Thank you," I whispered, mustering up all the warmth and gratitude I felt to show him I sincerely meant it.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

There was no day and night in there. There was the cool darkness, and the quiet whispers exchanged. Zetsu was able to find some mats and I slept on them, next to Madara. I did little else in that darkness, but think and whisper to the older man. It was... refreshing... no, it was wonderful to be able to talk to someone other than myself on an intellectual level. It was even nicer to confide to someone about my past life. I didn't bring it up, much, the only time I talked about it was the first conversation, and another one where I remarked I'm too old for this shit and Madara made a snide comment about how I was still a child to him. I didn't talk about it, but it was nice to know that I could and that he would listen.

It was scary the way he would listen. He was an attentive listener, and in a way, he reminded me of myself. Of how I must have appeared to everyone. Quiet.

Eerie.

"What's it like?" I asked one time. I sat at his feet, my back resting against his chair and my eyes closed. I rarely opened my eyes anymore. "... Mn. What was it like... to have that big family? To have... to have someone you could always rely on?"

After so much time passed, I began to think he wouldn't answer until he said, "Warm. It was hard, then, true. I lost... I lost so many loved ones... but it only made me cherish the ones I still had even more so. You couldn't have found a tighter family, I often thought. And... having Izuna... I could always drop all guards with him. There was no barrier, no secrets, and I knew that if I ever fell... someone would catch me. That kind of crutch can be both damning and freeing, because that kind of bond... when Izuna was gone..."

I placed a hand on his knee, and he broke off. Even I could hear the pained undertone in his voice. "Was it worth it?"

"Yes."

No hesitation.

I retracted my hand, setting it in my lap and contemplating his words.

How many people had already lost their 'crutches' in this war? How many people would lose their crutches in the war to come? In the Akatsuki attack, in the Kyuubi attack, in the missions, in the battles, in the...? How many people had to die, and how many people had to suffer because of others? Madara suffered, he lost his brother and his clan's trust all because of...

... because of what? Because Hashirama was the favored one? Because Tobirama and the rest of my so-called prestigious clan remained hypocritical? Citing they would trust the Uchiha and work with them to build Konoha... but in the end they refused to trust the one man who thought of the idea in the first place? Who wanted and believed in peace in the first place?

How was that fair?

Granted... he could have taken it better, perhaps. But, his entire family, the ones he believed he could count on the most... they turned their backs to him when he needed them the most. Coupled that with Izuna's death, and the fact that he knew the Uchiha would be screwed over by Konoha (and they were), yet he couldn't do anything to stop it... That kind of stress... how could anyone handle it?

Then Naruto... Naruto that bright and shining sun. Words failed me to describe him, his adventures and his ordeals. He didn't deserve that kind of suffering. He didn't deserve that kind of burden.

And Kakashi... Minato... Jiraiya... Tsunade... Kushina... Hinata... Neji... Sakura... Itachi... Nagato... Konan... Yahiko...

None of them deserved...

How was it fair?

It wasn't.

And despite how idealistic Naruto was, and despite how amazing he was, he wasn't a true miracle. Despite the great shinobi alliance, there would still be people out there, set to do harm. Violence and bloodshed just went hand and hand with this world, and with it... tears and heartbreaks.

It was so... depressing.

Even if I prevented all those deaths, got rid of the Akatsuki before they even started... what then? So what if I kept Obito from falling in love with Rin and I kept both of them alive and happy? Yahiko would still die, regardless, unless I interfered directly and if I did that... what then? Hanzo and Danzo would try another method, something I wouldn't be prepared for and maybe it would be Konan that dies then.

No. No.

Let's say I did. I saved everyone and I didn't even have to kill anyone to do it (Ha! As if that would ever happen). What then?

In ten... twenty years... _what then?_

I'll tell you what: _It will repeat itself._

All the stories I read with the characters so dead-set on saving everyone... so what?

So what if they saved them?

They'll still die in the end. There'll still be wars. There'll still be lives lost... blood-shed... tears... widows... orphans...

So you saved the ones you knew about.

And the ones that you didn't know about?

It was all so selfish. So petty.

If I did save them all... what would be the point?

_What was the point?_

_  
_

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Don't you ever get lonely?"

"Sometimes."

"How can you stand this darkness?" I asked, shuddering. It pressed down on me, all around me. It was almost suffocating.

"How can you stand the light?" Madara retorted and I got the feeling he wasn't talking about daylight or moonlight.

I shook my head, walking around on the smooth rock floor. I had been here long enough that I memorized where everything was and I could walk around with ease in the darkness. "I can't. I can't stand it. It's why... it's why I'm here. I hate the darkness... but I can't live in the light anymore."

Madara let out a long, tired sigh. "That is why I stay in the dark. The light always changes, flickering back and forth from one thing to another, fading and lying... promising warmth, but somehow never delivering on that promise... there is no promise in the dark. There is no warmth, but there is no coldness... You don't need to hide in the dark, because the dark hides you."

Suddenly, I found that I quite liked the darkness.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Konoha will destroy the Uchiha Clan," I told him.

"I know."

Unable to help myself, I turned my head in his direction. I wasn't sure why I felt compelled to inform him that his clan would be destroyed by what he had essentially created. However, after hearing his tired acknowledgement, his acceptance of the situation... I realized I had wanted to test him.

On what? I wasn't sure.

But his response... it made me angry.

No... not at him. For what could he do at this point? He was a tired old man and if he returned to Konoha at this point, he would be killed without question. I was mad at the situation. I was mad at Konoha, I was mad at the Uchiha Clan, I was mad at this fucked up world.

I was nearly done being apathetic. I could feel the disgust and anger swirling in my stomach.

In the long run, saving them would be pointless, wouldn't it? Everyone would die in the end and the cycle would rinse and repeat - maybe even get worse. And there wasn't shit I could do about it. I had all this knowledge and the supposedly legendary kekkai genkai and there wasn't shit I could do to really help anyone. The massacre would happen, maybe not by Itachi or the Elders, but it was going to happen. Maybe it just wouldn't be so one-sided. Who knows, maybe by saving the Clan from the massacre, all I did was instigate a rebellion to take place at a later date, killing even more people in the process.

 _God damn it!_ This wasn't meant to happen. This knowledge... it wasn't right. It wasn't just; it wasn't fair.

But life wasn't fair.

I was tired of it.

I was so damn tired of it.

There had to be... there had to be something I could do... something... anything...

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Despair had taken me. That and blind anger. It shook me, wracking every fiber of my being and left me breathless. Madara seemed to know what I was going through - _Of course he did, he already came to that conclusion long ago when he discovered the truth about chakra and the Sage of Six Paths_ \- and he seemed to know exactly what I needed: silence.

During that time of high emotions, we did not speak. I did not want to. I did not need to. He did not press for conversation, and he did not offer any advice. He allowed me to work through it on my own, to mull and agonize over the realization and that was exactly what I needed.

Towards the end there, I had been grasping at air, trying to think of ways to solve this world. To fix it. I had been listening to Madara's heartbeat in the same instance. While in the darkness, I had taken to quietly train myself, as I had before. It was comforting, that repetitive schedule. It was stable. I was slowing my own heartbeat and breath, enhancing my sound with chakra and listening to that soft (and oddly comforting) heartbeat of his... when it came to me.

_His heart was in the right place, in the long-run it might have worked. Maybe. There were so many flaws with his original plan, though, that it didn't fall through. With my knowledge, though, it would work, wouldn't it? Ha. Haha! Wouldn't that be a change. It would fix the world, wouldn't it? But it would be a shallow fix..._

It would be like placing a tiny band-aid over a gaping, gushing wound - putting a band-aid over a cut artery with the victim on an adrenaline rush. It was too flimsy. A genjutsu over the world? Please. What would they even do in the genjutsu...? Not to mention, you couldn't take the other route... take in the Juubi and become its jinchūriki then use fear... No... no... Fear broke people, and when people reached the limit... when certain people reached the edge and they felt they had nothing to lose, but everything to gain from resisting...

It would be moot. The genjutsu itself would have been nice, I suppose. But they would have had to instigate in a way that they (everyone, save the caster) didn't know about it. Then what if the caster grew tired? What if they were ready to die? Who would they pass the genjutsu off to? Because let's face it... nobody lives forever.

And what about babies? Infants? Would they automatically be born in a genjutsu... how would people move about in a genjutsu?

Or would be a compulsion genjutsu? That made sense. A constant compulsion to do good, maybe. But everyone defined good different. Maybe a compulsion to...

_You know... I bet nobody would kill if they had to relive the lives of their victims._

I paused in that train of thought.

_A genjutsu... that every time you hurt them... you had to live a bit of their life...? No. Too violating for the victim._

A compulsion to obey the laws set by the caster, then? Then the laws would dictate what the caster defined as good. That was all that had to be said and done - maybe? Or maybe just a compulsion to flee instead of fight. Instead of our instincts telling us to fight, the genjutsu gives us the instincts of flight...? There wouldn't be any fights if everyone kept running away, now would there? But then they would adapt... it's too vague.

Why was I even considering the genjutsu approach? It was... it was wrong wasn't it?

... Wasn't it?

Was it wrong to slaughter an entire clan, the guilty and the innocent? Was it wrong to wage war over something as trivial as land or gold, slaughtering hundreds in the process? Was it wrong to hate someone for what their grandfather or mother did? Was it wrong...?

I thought so.

And yet...

It still happened.

The saying went two wrongs don't make a right. And a genjutsu that took away free will...? That was wrong. It was disturbing and cruel, but...

But what if it wasn't permanent?

What if... what if it was just temporary? What if it was used to bring this generation and the next one, and maybe the third and fourth one... to a new society. And then... and then when everything was so engraved, when everyone was so against killing, thieving, raping, betraying... they would raise their own in such a manner. And it would be so engraved into them, into their very core... the genjutsu wouldn't be needed anymore. They would adapt, wouldn't they? If this world had taught me anything... it was that people could and would adapt.

If it was just temporary... would it have been so bad? In long run... wouldn't it have helped?

My breath was caught in my throat.

With my knowledge... with my knowledge all those unnecessary deaths could be avoided, that was true, but it was so much more than that. With what I knew... all the mistakes and holes in the plan...

_... they could all be fixed._

And in the genjutsu, any mistakes we had made along the way... poof. Everything was better. Everything was brighter and... and everyone would be okay.

Right?

I felt my heart constrict and thunder as my mind worked through the process. My mouth went dry and I sat up from where I had been laying on the floor.

Madara seemed to notice the shift in emotions in me. He stirred, I could feel him moving. I crawled over to him and sat in front of him, my legs tucked underneath me. I was shaking from excitement and nerves. I looked up at him, at where I knew his eyes would be.

But I couldn't do it alone. I wasn't that smart or cunning or witty, and while I knew of this world, I didn't know this world. I needed someone who was that cunning, that witty, that strong, that smart and who knew this world. I needed someone who was all of that.. and could implement it all.

"Madara-sama," I whispered.

"Yes, Naasica?"

"Please. Let me be your tool."

And understanding seemed to light his eyes, and though I could not see him, I knew he was smiling.

My knowledge would not go to waste.

They would get their happy endings.

Whether they wanted to or not.

_No more smiling, Naasica._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Reviews are **love!**


	2. Returning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNINGS** : Please read these warnings below before reading. If you do, or not, then proceed to complain about one of said warnings your review/comment will be removed and you will be blocked. This is not a story for the light hearted.
> 
> 1\. This story is AU. When I started this story Kaguya did not exist. The canonical version of the moon's eye plan had not been revealed, and many of us believed that it would be an overlay. As in everyone would continue to eat, move, and sleep on their own, but they would see things that weren't there, and believe that they were real.
> 
> Essentially like permanently hallucinating. It would not pull people inside of a demon tree to suck out their life force at all.
> 
> After much debating with myself, I have decided to stick with my original plan for the story and cut out Kaguya entirely. This story's background is completely AU.
> 
> So:
> 
> There is no Kaguya sealed in the moon. She existed, but she died and will stay in history. She wasn't even intended to be endgame but Kishimoto literally admitted he couldn't think of any other way to kill Madara. So... bye alien lady.
> 
> There is no black zetsu. Fuck that deus ex machima bull shit.
> 
> The genjutsu causes mass hallucination and does not kill people. They will operate normally but simply see things that are not there.
> 
> 2\. This story contains the following triggers as scenes that will be written out: Violence, child endangerment, murder, gore, threats, manipulation, and massacres.
> 
> 3\. This story contains the following triggers that will be referenced but NOT explicitly written out (as in I will state such and such happened, but I will not write it out step by step): Child abuse, rape, molestation, torture, and suicide
> 
> 4\. This story will NOT have any lemons or limes, or decided pairings outside of canon. This is mostly gen-focused with a proper villain OC.
> 
> 5\. This will contain a powerful OC, not someone weak, or average.
> 
> 6\. If you do not want to read a master/servant relationship do not read this.
> 
> 7\. If you do not want to read about a descent into insanity, do not read this.
> 
> 8\. If you do not want to read about a character who will lie, trick, manipulate, and murder to get her way, do not read this.
> 
> 9\. If you are not prepared for the "bad guys" to potentially win, do not read this story.
> 
> 10\. If you are not prepared to read about human brutality and "monsters" of humanity, do not read this story.

**Artwork done by Mauriko on deviantART.**

**"Some men just want to watch the world burn."**

**-Alfred**  
**(ง ⌣ ⌣) ง**

_"Don't be so silly," Grandmother said, a teasing light in her eyes. "It doesn't suit you."_

_I smiled coyly, cupping my hands together and lifting the flour up to my face. I puffed out my cheeks and blew as hard as I could._

_Grandmother giggled with glee as the flour erupted all over the kitchen, showering us in white powder. Her laughter became infectious and I started to giggle with her. Her eyes rested on me, warm and loving._

_"Silly little sapling," Grandmother scolded me. "Now watch and learn."_

_Grandmother scooped up some flour and blew on at. Once again a shower of flour started to descend around us. My giggles took a higher-pitch, as I struggled to contain my glee. My hands clapped together and I applauded how she managed to cover the entire kitchen with flour. Grandmother bowed lowly._

_She then straightened up, a smile on her face. She reached out a wrinkled hand and brushed back a stray strand of hair from my face. "I love you, my little sapling."_

. . .

. .

.

"You cannot stay here forever," Madara whispered, brushing back a stray strand of hair from my face. His eyes bore into me, even if I could not see them, I knew that much. "The knowledge you possess... we will need time to devise our plan, but I know this much... you will be of better use if you are in a firm position in Konohagakure."

I grabbed his hand, holding it in my hands. The skin was still calloused and rough, despite all the years Madara hadn't actually used it for difficult work. It was a hard hand, a hand that had taken many lives, but hopefully... it would be a hand that saved many lives, too.

"I understand. But how will I contact you again? We cannot rely on Zetsu..."

"We do not need to," Madara said softly. "You know how Zetsu is able to move from one place to another - he melds with the earth, with the trees and ground and scatters his cells. He traverses from one place to another almost instantaneously, and you also know that Zetsu is made entirely of Hashirama's cells, as well as the Jūbi's shell."

"Are you... are you saying that because Hashirama is my grandfather...? Because I have his cells...?"

"Not quite," Madara responded. "It requires the wood-nature ability to utilize this. The Jūbi's chakra allows Zetsu to phase through anything, but the wood-nature alone will permit him to traverse through wood."

That made sense. Yamato was able to utilize something similar.

"Something Konoha has plenty of. So... So I must learn how to meld with the trees and travel like Zetsu?"

"Yes. When you have mastered it to the point where you can move from Konoha to here quickly and efficiently, then you will return to Konoha."

I nodded my head. "Yes, Madara-sama."

"You will stay in Konoha. You will grow. You must rise through the ranks and reach the highest position you can. If you want to be Hokage, then be Hokage, but just know you need power. Do whatever it takes to reach that."

My stomach churned with nerves. "If that... if that is what is necessary, then I will do it, Madara-sama. But... but how can I reach those ranks?"

"Present yourself as a powerful kunoichi," Madara said simply. "You are a woman trapped in a child's body, use that intelligence of yours to your advantage. You have the wood-style, use that to the fullest. You are the Senju heiress, and you will learn seals from an Uzumaki seal master. Use all of your resources."

I felt sick, and fear ran through me. What Madara was suggesting was the exact opposite of what I had been doing. He was saying to draw attention to myself - to paint a giant target on my back saying: _Look at me! Look at me! I've got Hashirama's chakra and I'm a rising prodigy! Look at me! Look at me!_ My gut instinct screamed for me to do anything, but draw attention to myself. Especially with Danzō and Orochimaru on the prowl...

Madara must have sensed my fear because he said, almost soothingly, "Orochimaru and Danzō would not dare. After this kidnap attempt, you will be guarded zealously. It will be hassle enough for you to slip out to meet me, and I doubt Orochimaru nor Danzō somehow are capable of developing a teleportation technique. Not to mention, I will be training you. You will not be an easy target, and with time, you will not be a target at all."

A thrill ran through me at that. Madara was the kind of teacher that took a dead-last like Obito and turned him into Tobi in less than two years. Still... I didn't like the thought of drawing attention to myself. Not in the least bit, yet... yet if it was necessary for our goal... if it was necessary for survival, as well as to achieve that world...

"I understand," I whispered, the words somehow heavier once up in the air.

Madara seemed to eye me for a while longer. "... It will be impossible to hide your wood-nature, you do realize that, don't you?"

I lowered my eyes.

"Hashirama... Hashirama was only able to separate his chakra into two natures after over a decade of training, and even then it took considerable effort. I'm sure you've already had trouble attempting to do so."

I nodded my head.

"I doubt you'll be able to perform anything other than wood-style jutsus for at least a decade. More than likely longer," Madara said blandly, and I frowned. "Furthermore, the fact that you were so easily emotional and that you broke to the point of confessing to me of your origins shows that you won't be able to play the idiot. You're intelligence will reveal itself in one form or another. Either you set yourself early as a prodigy and a wood-user, or you try to uphold a mask that will be revealed one way or another."

I flushed deeply at his words, white hot shame rushing through me.

"Do not be ashamed," Madara said softly, bringing a finger to tilt my head back up to meet his eyes. "You have not been trained for something like this... Now... enough of these words... you need to train. Zetsu, if you would..."

"Right away, Madara-sama," I heard Zetsu laugh.

**(ง ⌣ ⌣) ง**

I still had yet to actually leave the cave during the day. Zetsu would only take me out at night, and we only focused on my ability to transport myself. It was an odd thing, and I understood the theory behind it, but actually replicating it myself was... odd. In essence, I was first converting my entire body - down to the atom - into chakra. Into wood-natured chakra. From there, I had to transition myself into the wood and allow myself to scatter, and focus in one a single familiar tree, or thing of wood.

Zetsu often lamented that he had no consciousness when he scattered, and that all he could focus on was the destination. He said it was an odd experience and at best, unsettling.

When I was finally able to dissolve my hand, I had to concur with him.

The time that I did not spend training, I spent discussing our moves with Madara. I understood why I needed to ascertain such a high position - I needed to be able to sway Konoha in some manner regarding certain things. I couldn't abuse my ability, and I could not sway everything too much, otherwise the future would become too muddled to accurately predict the outcome.

There were things that we already decided to change. The first regarding Kabuto's resurrection of Madara. We both agreed that Madara being able to utilize the Edo-Tensei effects (limitless chakra, can't die, etc) was advantageous, and he would be brought back through that originally, however Madara was strongly against anyone adjusting his body to their advantage.

Regarding Nagato, Madara had yet to give the boy his Rinnegan, and he was hesitant in doing so (considering how sentimental he became and how he was capable of being swayed by Naruto's words). His Rinnegan alone did not have the ability to bring life to others (hence why he originally gave it to Nagato), because it needed to be saturated and thrive in a certain chakra - in Uzumaki chakra. There were a scarce few true Uzumakis available (and it had to be a pureblood Uzumaki's chakra, not watered down like mine, or Naruto's), and even fewer young enough to dismiss the different eyes.

We needed Madara alive so he could become the jinchuuriki. Only an Uchiha could control the Jūbi, and Madara did not want Obito to become the jinchuuriki, since he failed spectacularly. But we could only restore Madara to his living form with the Rinnegan... and the Rinnegan would only work if it had roughly a decade to rest inside a pureblood Uzumaki's chakra.

Our options were severely limited, but we had time. For the moment, our priority was returning me to Konoha and getting me on the road to political sway. We would discuss what we would do next at a later date.

It took a solid two weeks to get the jutsu down to Madara's satisfaction. Shorter than what I anticipated, but both Madara and Zetsu assured me it was because most of it was innate - and I had no choice, but to agree.

When night had fallen again, Madara walked (slowly, carefully, wearily) with me to the edge of the cave. We faced each other and the moonlight fell around us.

"When you are capable, return to me," Madara said. "We will begin your training and discuss our next step."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

"Learn fuinjutsu as soon as you are able."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

"Graduate as early as you can."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

"Achieve power in Konoha, waste no time. Step on whoever you need to."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

Madara's lips slowly spread into a smile. "I almost forget... woman... you never told me your real name."

I blinked slowly at that. I then felt my own smile crawl across my face, but it was not a pleased smile, or a happy smile. "In the end, it doesn't matter. She died many years ago, and now there is only Naasica. And as Naasica, I will do whatever it takes to survive this world, and change it for the better."

Madara cocked his head, his eyes dancing with dark mirth. "Then I bid you farewell, Naasica."

"Until next time, Madara-sama."

_I... I won't fail you._

**(ง ⌣ ⌣) ง**

My clothes were torn and ragged; mud and my blood covering it. My stomach was rumbling, and I knew that I would be passing out shortly. To prepare for my return in Konohagakure, Madara made sure to fabricate a story to tell upon my return. They would not subject me to a mind-walk with the Yamanaka family (I was too young, my body was too immature and such an attempt would only do my harm than good), so they would only have my story to go by. Which shouldn't be that hard to believe, considering all the evidence that I carried with me and they had no real reason to disagree.

I did not eat at all for the last two days before I left, and I ate very little the week before. I had already been fighting off the hunger pains and fatigue, and finally the actual use of the jutsu pushed me over the edge.

I stumbled out of the bushes and onto the dirt path, my eyes staring up tiredly at the front gate. The moon was wide and full above me and my eyes drifted up to it for a brief moment before settling onto the sign-in desk. There were two shinobi who sat there and I didn't recognize them.

Moving one foot in front of the other, I began a debilitating stumble towards the gate; slowly, painfully, my head spinning and my stomach snarling and snapping at me. Finally, I reached the front gate and leaned heavily on the wooden doors. One of the shinobi spotted me a frown on his face as he stood up. He looked puzzled, as though trying to understand what was occurring in front of him.

"S... Senju Naasica," I croaked, my voice barely above a whisper and suddenly his eyes widened and his face cleared with understanding.

"Senju-sama," he said, flickering towards me just as I swayed and fell forwards. He caught me deftly. "Oi. Tashu! Alert the Hokage... Senju-sama's returned. I need to get her to the hospital."

The shinobi's - Tashu - eyes were wide and he gave a short nod before disappearing. I held my breath, my eyes flickering close and I sagged in his arms. I made sure to keep my chest moving to give the impression I was breathing, however from the lack of oxygen to my brain, coupled with my weak state...

I fainted deliberately.

**(ง ⌣ ⌣) ง**

I woke up bleary-eyed with an IV stuck in me and I was cocooned in hospital blankets. Flowers adorned my bedside and I recognized Kushina immediately. She was curled up in a chair at my side, snoring softly. She was still dressed in her pajamas and a swift look out the window told me it was still night (but the moon was dipping down, so the sun would be up soon).

A quick check over me told me that already my condition was improving. Tilting my head, I looked down at my hands and flexed them experimentally.

It almost seemed surreal.

Did I actually meet the Uchiha Madara?

Did I actually make a deal with him?

With the demon of the Narutoverse?

Sitting up slowly, I stared down at my lap, resting my hands in it. Was I prepared to face the consequences of my actions?

_But if all goes according to plan, there won't be any consequences. Not for you, or for anyone else._

That was true. I could deal with the temporary wrongful deeds, if it meant in the long-run things would be better. I had no reason to feel truly guilty. When the Genjutsu was cast and the world was tamed, they would thank us. Thank me. After all, we would be saving them, wouldn't we? We're helping them. We're preventing anyone else from losing their loved ones.

No one would have to hide in our world. No one would lose their family or friends or loved ones. No one would fight. No one would be hurt.

It would be a utopia.

 _True_ peace.

A smile graced my lips and my eyes drifted over to Kushina's sleeping form. In the long-run, that's all that mattered. The ends justified the means in this case, because the ends would grant all the means nonexistent. Any mistakes along the way would be corrected. There was nothing for us - for me - to lose.

So I could deal with this now. I would swallow my reluctance and fear and follow Madara's plans. Because in the long-run, it was for the best.

It was the best way to survive this world, and it was the best way to obtain a truly happy ending.

I patted Kushina's head softly and her eyes opened slowly. She stared up at me for a handful of seconds, still waking up, before her eyes snapped open widely and she lurched from her seat. Her arms wrapped around me and she pulled me close, squishing me into her.

Resisting the urge to give a startled shout, I relaxed in her arms, closing my eyes. I inhaled her scent - _soft rain, like Grandmother's, but with a hint of ash_ \- and weakly wrapped my own arms around her.

"Hi," I mumbled into her chest.

Kushina squeezed me more tightly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

My hands moved up and down her back in a consoling gesture. "Shhh. It's okay."

"I'm sorry. I should have looked for you sooner, I - "

"It's okay," I said again. "I'm okay now, and that's all that matters. It's alright. I'm not mad. I'm not seriously injured. I'm okay."

Kushina squashed me against her and I gave a choked cry. "Can't... breathe...!"

Kushina gave a watery laugh and pulled back, brushing a finger along my cheek. "What happened?"

"It's a long story," I whispered quietly, my eyes trailing downcast. "I don't want to repeat it. Do you think you can wait until Hokage-sama or one of his officers comes here to hear me story?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Kushina said softly. "Whatever you need... You should get some rest. I'll wake you when Hokage-sama comes."

"Okay, Kushina-san," I said softly.

**(ง ⌣ ⌣) ง**

There was a warm hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and found Kushina leaning over me. To her right, just a little behind her, was the Hokage. He dipped his head in greeting, offering me a comforting smile. "I'm sorry to wake you, Naasica-hime."

I shook my head. "It's fine, Hokage-sama. I understand you need to know what happened as soon as possible."

"Are you ready?" Kushina asked, a worried frown on her face. I offered her a wane smile.

"I am. I... I was on my way home. It was dark and I couldn't see very well. Then... then all of a sudden something hit me... in the back of the head," I said hollowly, my hands lifting up and touching the back of my head. I tried to will up all the fear and resentment I had felt at the time. It was harder than I imagined, but I was able to force some emotion in my story. "The... the next thing I know, I'm tied and being carried away. I was... I was knocked out again. Wh-When I woke up..."

I stopped, burying my face in my hands and shaking my head, as if trying to dispel the dark memories. "I-I'm sorry. I just... There was fighting. And blood. I was... I was scared. I don't remember very clearly how I got out, just that I did and that I started running. We were in a forest, you see, and I... I just started running. I don't know how long I ran, but I ran until I just couldn't. I remembered... I remembered Obaa-chan telling me that Konoha was to the East. I figured... I figured if I went East I could find a road or something and... and come back home."

I let out a shaky breath, lowering my hands and curling them into shaking fists. "I'm sorry. I don't remember much of my time in the forest, but... but I did find something out."

The Hokage eyed me for another moment. "What did you find out, Naasica-hime?"

I held up my hand and watched as it slowly transformed into wood.

Kushina gasped and Hiruzen's eyes widened. Kushina grabbed at my hand, staring at it with a mixture of fascination and worry. "Naasica-chan... you have...?"

"I think so," I said quietly. "I just thought you should know. I don't know how to use it very well, and..."

Hiruzen cleared his throat, his eyes narrowing back to their normal size again. "I am certain we could find you a proper trainer, Naasica-chan. The Mokuton is a very powerful kekkei genkai and Konoha is lucky to have been blessed with another user. It was Hashirama and Tobirama who taught me, and I can remember a few techniques he used. If anything, I'm sure I could assist you."

"Even with your busy schedule?" I asked, surprised.

"Probably not directly," Hiruzen admitted, "but I'm sure I could write up a training regime if needed be."

I bowed my head. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I am honored."

Kushina hesitated a moment before she sat on the bed with me. Remembering that I was a child who had gone through a traumatic event, I crawled out of my blankets and buried my face in her side, wrapping my arms around her. She pulled me close, hugging me tightly.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled into her side. "I'm sorry, you must have been so worried."

"Don't apologize," Kushina said quickly. "You have no reason to."

The Hokage cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for having you relive your time away, Naasica-hime. I'll be taking my leave."

"W-Wait, Hokage-sama," I whispered, looking away from Kushina and at him with wide, watery, eyes. "I... I never want to have to go through that again. I... I want to start training and... and I know children aren't allowed in the academy, yet, but, I...!"

He gave me a warm smile. "These are troubling times, Naasica-hime. I must confer with the Council, first, but if you cannot enter the academy, I am certain we could find you a suitable instructor. Good day, Kushina-san, Naasica-hime."

When he had left, Kushina wiped away at my eyes. (tears had gathered, I was quite proud of myself I had managed to conjure them on the spot) "Are you sure you want to enter the academy? It's a big decision, Naasica-chan."

"I'm certain. I want to train and grow strong," I said confidently.

Kushina gave me a bright smile and standing up, her hands clenched into fists and a fire lit in her eyes. "I understand. I'll help you in whatever way I can, dattebane!"

Kushina blushed brightly at her speech-tic, realizing she got over-excited again.

I smiled in fondness at her, and she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Ah, so, you know, I can help you start when we get home. We'll pick up some training kunai and shuriken along the way home and I'll show you how to properly use them."

"Can we purchase a target dummy?" I asked hesitantly. "We can use the Senju funds."

Kushina nodded her head. "Sure thing! Hmm, let's see... you can start doing stretches in the morning with me. I know all the good ones." She winked at me. "Oh, and when you come home from the academy - I have no doubt you'll be allowed to enter when the it starts back up again in a few weeks - I can teach you some Taijutsu. It'll be a while before we move on to Ninjutsu, though. Hmm... I wonder if you'll be able to learn chakra-chains."

"Chakra-chains?" I echoed.

"Mm-hmm, an Uzumaki trait. It requires a lot of the Uzumaki chakra to use, though, so sometimes a mix-clan kunoichi/shinobi can't use it," Kushina explained.

"I'm sure you'll be able to, though. Your kaa-chan was Uzumaki, too, like your obaa-chan."

"She was?" I asked, surprised. "... That's keeping it... close."

Kushina snorted. "The Uzumaki Clan is so big, some people can't even trace to what their relationship is with everyone."

Kushina paused. "... Was. The Uzumaki was so big."

"Kind of like the Senju Clan, right?" I asked softly.

A somber silence fell.

Kushina cleared her throat. "Well, I'll talk to the nurse and see when we can get you out of here. We never did go furniture shopping, did we? We'll pick out the things for your room, too. And some new clothes, because it seems you've outgrown your other ones."

I smiled at her. "I'd like that."


	3. Rival

**Artwork done by niassweet71 on deviantART.**

**"Some men just want to watch the world burn."**

**-Alfred**

_Grandmother was seated in the shade under the tree. It was the largest tree in our backyard, and her favorite. Tsunade was sitting next to her, curled up beside her and flipping through a book. I was holding Batman tightly and spinning around, and around._

_It was childish and silly, but it was so simply delectable. I loved spinning. And when Grandmother continued to blow out the dandelions, causing the little seeds to spin around me, it was a childish miracle to me. It was beautiful, and pure, and nice and I adored it._

_I came to a stop I stumbled and fell. Tsunade giggled quietly and I stood up wobbly. A smile lit up my face as I staggered into Grandmother and Tsunade's laps, spreading across both of them and stretching._

_Grandmother and Tsunade exchanged sly glances before swooping down and starting to tickle me._

_"S-Stop!" I laughed. "P-Please!"_

_"Never," they chorused._

. . .

. .

.

Kushina gripped my hand tightly as she guided me out of the hospital. "Let's go furniture shopping first. I'll make some clones to set it up at the apartment while we go clothes and training shopping, dattebane!"  
I giggled at her enthusiasm, before a yawn escaped me. "A-Ah, mm. Okay."

Kushina's smile widened and she started to sprint, practically dragging me with her. "Oh this is going to be so much fun! I haven't gone shopping in... well it's been a while, dattebane! Actually, I did go grocery shopping, but I mean the fun kind of shopping, you know?"

I continued to smile in bemusement as Kushina rambled on. I didn't care too much for shopping, but it seemed to make Kushina happy, so I would try to enjoy myself.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

It was early afternoon when we finally came to my new home, to Kushina's apartment. It was a fairly decent size, considering it was an apartment. Two bedrooms, and the kitchen and dining room were one room. There was a little half-wall that was about the same height as me when I stood on my tip-toes dividing the kitchen and living room, and only one bathroom.

"Are you hungry? Want me to fix you anything to eat?" Kushina asked, moving to my room, carrying most of the bags. I followed behind her, carrying the rest of the bags.

"Um. I could eat," I admitted, entering my new room. I kept the same bed from my previous home, but I had a new desk, bookshelf and collection of toys. (stuffed animals. I doubt I would ever play with them, but I was still a child and I knew children enjoyed new toys) I also had new sheets and some new scrolls.

Kushina gave a hum. "Alright, if you want to start putting your clothes away, I'll get started on lunch."

"Okay, Nee-chan," I murmured; and Kushina brushed past me, heading to the kitchen. I meticulously poured out the new clothings, folding them as I had many times before and placing them in the drawer. When I was done with them, I placed all the empty bags in one bag and set it by the door. I then opened the training bags, pulling out the packs of basic kunai and shuriken and laying them neatly on my desk. The training dummy was rolled up in a summoning scroll, ready to be dismissed and called upon whenever it was being used or not.

Carrying the scroll tightly to my chest, I headed out into the living room, the smell of fresh meat penetrating my smell. I placed it in a bare spot, against the wall, and unrolled it.

"Lunch is almost ready," Kushina called from the kitchen after noticing me. "Why don't you set the table?"

"Okay," I said.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Once lunch was done, Kushina guided me to the living room after I grabbed my kunai set. She brought me five meters away from the target practice and moved my feet and body into the correct position. She took my hand and gently placed the kunai in it, adjusting my grip on it.

She then walked to the target. "Alright, Naa-chan! Take your time with each throw. Let's focus on landing hits on the target, then we'll focus on more precise hits, and then we'll work on speed. Go ahead and try - focus on the target, and throw. I'll catch it before it damages anything outside the target."

I shifted my weight and looked down at the surprisingly light kunai. I then threw back my arm and...

It was a good thing Kushina was a kunoichi, or she wouldn't have caught it before it went out the window behind me.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

When night had fallen and Kushina had finally gone to bed (I heard her move down to her bedroom and waited thirty minutes), I crawled out of my bed, dropping low to the wooden floor (I actually had to argue against Kushina buying me a rug). Quickly, I moved to my desk and grabbed my pouch of kunai and shuriken. Closing my eyes, I felt for other chakra around me, as Madara had taught me. Finding no one, I slowly melded into the wooden floor, traversing down the wooden walls before latching onto the root of a tree in the front of the apartment.

I was lucky that Kushina's apartment had such a large tree outside her apartment. I could easily enter it and travel from tree to tree until I was outside of Konoha in only a handful of seconds. And with the multitude of trees, all of their roots connecting or touching, it wasn't long before I found myself walking out of the tree above the cave.

I dropped down, tugging off my pajama shirt, and revealing the training cammie I had underneath it. I pulled off my pajama pants and adjusted the training shorts I wore. I then folded both parts of my pajamas and placed them on a nearby rock.

"Madara-sama?" I greeted, walking into the darkness.

"Welcome home."

Bowing lowly, I murmured, "They bought the story. What will you have me do now?"

"Will you be accepted into the academy?" Madara rasped, stepping towards me.

"I believe so. The academy starts up in four weeks, and after I showed Hiruzen my kekkei genkai, he seemed rather eager for me to start training."

I could feel Madara smile, pleased. "He would be a fool not to. Come, I've had Zetsu set up targets. Set your pouch down. You will be running for now."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

After resting the pouch against the wall of the cave, I walked, barefoot, to the center and stood next to Madara. It was too dark to see him, but I could feel his chakra and hear him.

"I have placed numerous rocks around the cave. Circle around me, don't stop running, and try not to get too banged up. Each obstacle has something distinctive, if you focus your other senses hard enough, you will be able to dodge them successfully."

Apprehension that Madara had created obstacles for me, left my tongue silent. It would do no good to argue against his training. Running through the dark in essentially foreign land would help my reaction and maneuverability. If I could successfully dodge and adjust my pattern to unexpected surprises here, it would be beneficial on the battlefield. A place where plans never went as they should and a quick reaction time determined whether you lived or died.

Not to mention it would force me to adapt to my other senses. If he had placed a scented stone, then if I smelt it soon enough (and I would be forced to, lest I wanted a bruise), then I had a given time to react quickly enough. But in order for that to happen, I would have to smell it first, a skill that would take practice... and motivation.

Suppressing a reluctant sigh, I started my jog.

"We will improve your endurance and your chakra control. When you come here, you will run on the new obstacle course until I say otherwise. After that, you will begin your stretches and cool down. From there, the lesson will differentiate - "

My feet connected against a hard rock and I was sent sprawling to the ground. I winced, feeling a sharp sting on my both of my knees. Annoyance flared through me and I forced myself back up before bursting into another jog.

" - Three times a week, we will work on your precision with range. You will, of course, start off practicing this outside in the moonlight. - "

I tripped and stumbled into the rock wall, my hands spread out to catch me, but in the process they dug into the spiky layer. I chewed on my bottom lip before readjusting myself, dependant on Madara's voice, and started to run again.

" - One day a week we will work on the theory of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, or manipulation and battle strategy and the other three days will be spent on chakra-control. When you have - "

My feet dug into a particularly sharp stone and I gasped from the surprising pain. Swallowing roughly, I lifted my foot up from the floor and pulled out the stone, tossing it to the side.

 _I am so bringing shoes next time._

" - reached satisfactory level in one of the aforementioned area, we will move on to a new schedule. And continue to run barefoot. This will help build up your pain tolerance."

"Oni-sensei," I muttered under my breath.

"I, of course, expect you to use your time outside of our meetings to train," Madara continued smoothly. "After you have reached the appropriate status, and have learned enough in diplomacy, manipulation and coercion, you will attempt to ally yourself with the Clan Heirs and Heiresses."

"Yes, Madara-sama," I said, after realizing that he finished.

My forehead slammed into a stalactite.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I creeped out of my bedroom, scrapes and blood covering me. Already, I could feel the bruises that would form tomorrow. I would have to wear clothing that covered my arms and legs, to make sure Kushina didn't see the injuries until I could heal. One of the bright sides about being three-fourths Uzumaki, though, was the faster regeneration rate. The surface wounds would be taken care of by the time the next night-training started.

Spreading my weight out evenly, I pushed chakra into my feet and started walking along the wall - the floor creaked - before I reached the bathroom. I opened the bathroom door and slowly dropped down onto the tiles, before I closed it and turned on the lights.

Dirt and blood caked the majority of my form - mostly dirt, though. The blood was most common from my hands, knees, and feet. I muttered irritably under my breath, taking out a wash cloth and turning on the water.

 _I'll need to see if Madara can make some subtle silencing seals for the bathroom. I'd rather Kushina didn't suddenly hear the water running and decide to check it out._

I winced as I started cleaning the wounds.

 _I'll also need to see if I can create some antibiotic ointment, I thought sullenly. For now, I'll use the tube we have here._

After I had thoroughly cleaned, disinfected, and bandaged myself, I finally changed into my pajamas (hiding the dirty training clothes under my mattress) and crawled into bed for a few hours of sleep.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Wakey-wakey!"

Creaking my eyes open, I blearily looked up at Kushina. She was smiling brightly at me. "Come on, sleepy-head. I made some breakfast."

"I'm up, I'm up," I muttered tiredly and Kushina gave a small hum before heading out to the dining room. I crawled out of bed, making sure all of my bruises and scratches were covered with my pajamas, before I followed after her.

The smell of pancakes (a pleasant surprise that this world had a crossover of my old world's food, as well as the standard Japanese style), eggs, and ham greeted me warmly. I gave a fleeting smile at that, before taking my seat at the small table with Kushina. She was already dressed.

"I still have another week of leave before I have return to active duty," Kushina told me, nibbling on her eggs. "I - "

There was a soft knock at the door and Kushina glared at it, her temper flaring. As she stood up to answer it, she muttered crossly, "Now who would come knocking this early while I'm trying to have a nice meal with my - "

Throwing open the door, Kushina looked prepared to give the person a verbal-lashing, but stopped when she found that it was none other than the Hokage.

"H-Hokage-sama. I wasn't expecting you - "

He smiled at her. "It's quite alright. I won't be long. I just wanted to stop by personally to inform you that Naasica-hime will be attending the new year's class in the fall. She'll be a couple years younger than the others (as you have to be six to enter the academy), but I'm sure she'll do well. Also, Konoha will be posting a temporary ANBU guard until she has entered. You understand..."

We did. Until I officially started training in the shinobi arts - entering the academy - I was a civilian, regardless of my family. However, when I began training, I was considered a shinobi, or kunoichi, and Konoha had no obligation to use their most elite warriors to protect me unless they knew I was in imminent danger, or I was paying for it (like Grandmother technically did).

And the Hokage knew I would never pay for someone to follow me around and 'protect me'. I was too proud and I was the Senju Clan Heiress. It would be considered disgraceful unless I was too old or sick to properly defend myself.

"Yes, of course, Hokage-sama," Kushina managed, still bewildered. "Is there anything else, Hokage-sama?"

"No, I'll be taking my leave," he said.

Once the Hokage had left, I could still feel the ANBU's chakra just outside. My eyes narrowed in annoyance at this change, but I quickly put on a smile when Kushina turned around.

 _Just as Madara predicted,_ I thought darkly. _When I don't show up tonight, Zetsu will arrive tomorrow night and borrow some of my chakra. He'll act as my clone while I sneak off to train with Madara._

"Entering the academy already," Kushina said, smiling at me. "What do you want to do? Celebrate?"

I shook my head, recalling Madara's words. "Train. I need to get stronger."

Kushina's smile slipped as she stared at me in confusion. "You sure?"

"Do you not support this?" I asked innocently, feigning a little hurt. Kushina was quick to blush and shake her head.

"You'll always have my support, I just... I don't want you to lose yourself in the process," Kushina said gently, moving to squat down to look at me at eye-level. "You're still a child, Naa-chan."  
I straightened up. "I am the Senju Heiress. I do not have time to - "

Kushina rolled her eyes and ruffled my hair. "Don't take your duties so seriously. For now, you're still a child. Don't waste what time you have, especially considering you'll be entering the academy so soon. If you truly want to spend your time training, I won't object, but I will have to strongly encourage you balance out your time."

I bit my bottom lip. _I would actually rather not do what she wants me to do. I don't want to play with children so below my intelligence, nor do I want to degrade myself to act so childishly. One of the few benefits to being an Heiress was that you were expected to act more like an adult, something that's far easier for me. However, I have a feeling it would seem... odd... if I objected too much. After all, I am still a "child" to her. I don't want to draw the wrong kind of attention._

"... I... I need to get stronger. Not just for myself, but maybe... you're right. I don't want to waste my childhood..."

Kushina beamed.

I fidgeted, pretending to be shy and embarrassed. "But I don't know how. I... I've never really... I mean... outside of you, Nee-chan and Obaa-chan... I don't... I just..."

Kushina's eyes widened with realization before rounding into sympathy. "You've never really played with children your age, have you?"

Willing the blood rush to my cheeks, like Madara taught me to, I blushed and shook my head.

 _It's always important you know how to control your appearance,_ Madara had said. _You can never truly trust anyone, except me. Especially considering our plan. If they found out, they would turn on you instantly. They are your enemy, even if they smile at you, even if they say they mean well, even if they promise to be your friend, they are your enemy!_

 _Konoha is your mission, and you are infiltrating it. There will be times where you must hide how you feel, and times where you must express what you don't feel. Before you return, I will show you the basics..._

It helped that I actually knew some of the basics. Part of being a teenager, I suppose, was the learning how to effectively lie. Or perhaps that was just me. It helped, I suppose, that I had to learn to do that all over again while I still lived with Grandmother and... Tsunade... for some cases.

Kushina looked down, frowning. "Hmm..."

Then as if remembering I was there, she forced a smile on her face and beamed at me. "Don't worry, dattebane! We'll figure it out. How about we train now, though?"

I smiled. "I would like that, Nee-chan."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

As predicted, the following night, just after Kushina went to bed, Zetsu appeared under my bed. He reached out a pale white arm, wiggling his fingers in hello. I crawled out of my blankets and rolled under the bed, staring at him. He gave me a wide, toothy smile, as he placed his hand on my shoulder. He started sucking my chakra."Madara-sama's looking for you."

"Mn. Four ANBU - "

"I know. I have enough now, go on ahead."

"Mn. Okay."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Just until the academy?" Madara asked, as I began my stretches. I was panting heavily from the run. At my weak nod, he seemed to frown. "Annoying, but doable. You will need to learn to make a wood clone after you enter the academy. It would take nothing less than Zetsu to fool the ANBU, but a clone will do just fine for Kushina."

"Y-Yes... Madara-sama," I panted.

We fell into silence as I finished my stretches. When I was done, I stood before Madara, my back straight and and eyes lowered, as a sign of respect. I almost wanted to put my hands behind my back and stand in attention, but the traditions in this world demanded differently.

"Today we will work on chakra control. I know you have already started on the tree-walking. We will go on from that," Madara said, turning and heading outside the cave. I trailed behind him, my bare feet still stinging from the run.

Madara finally stopped before a tree, gesturing to it. "Begin climbing. When you reach the top, turn back around and come back down. I want to see how well you do first."

I nodded. It took a split-second to gather the necessary chakra into the bottom of my feet before I began to climb. I walked slowly, carefully, my brow furrowed. When I finally returned to the bottom, and stepped off, Madara snorted.

"We're going to have our work cut out for us," Madara muttered. "Alright, go to the top and when you reach there, grab a leaf. Using your chakra, stick the leaf to the tips of each of your fingers."

I tilted my head, blushing sheepishly. "I... actually haven't succeeded in the leaf exercise... like, at all."

"I could tell."

My cheeks warmed in shame.

"You need finer chakra control. While you have enough chakra to use in spades, you still need to be able to maximize the minimum required. Eventually, you will face an opponent who can outlast you in terms of chakra, and you will be forced to carefully measure what chakra you use. In order to do this, you need near-perfect chakra control. Besides, when we move onto Ninjutsu and ratio changes, the better control you have, the easier. You will not return down until you have succeeded."

 _What the hell are ratio changes?  
_  
"What if I don't? What if I... I run out of chakra before I complete the exercise?"

"Then you better not land on your head."

"... Yes, Madara-sama."

Madara smiled sardonically. "This will help with your landing techniques, as well. Learn to land without using chakra."

I suppressed a sigh, choosing instead to turn away and begin the climb.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

It took exactly three days before Kushina managed to snag a "play date" for me. When she first told me, I had to suppress my annoyance, choosing to outwardly express hesitancy and nerves. Within minutes of informing me, Kushina had swooped me up in her arms and had me dressed, groomed and styled up before hurrying me off to the park. I scarcely had time to grab my kunai pack as we left.

"Trust me," Kushina said, carrying me to the park and hopping from roof to roof, "you'll like this! He's a training nut, just like you!"

 _Oh my God, did she stick me on a play date with Gai?_

_Then again, at least I could train in my Taijutsu._

When we reached the park, Kushina set me down and brushed down my more stubborn locks of hair. She adjusted my robes, untying my orange obi and then re-tying it into a neat bow on my left side. "Alright, are you ready, Naa-chan?"  
I forced a blush on my face, lowering my eyes and fidgeting with the hems of my black robes. "I-I guess, Nee-chan. I-If you really think this is a good idea..."

Kushina clapped her hands together, beaming. "Excellent, dattebane! Now come on. I can sense their chakras over here."

In the direction she pointed, I immediately sharpened my hearing and sense of smell, channeling the chakra like I had before in Madara's cave.

"... Tou-san, I don't want to do this."

"I know you don't, but just give it a try. Senju-hime is like you, from what Kushina's told me. I bet you two will get along great."

"She's a _girl_ , Tou-san."

"She _likes_ training."

"I bet she's stupid."

"Young man..."

I rolled my eyes, having heard enough. Kushina had taken my hand and guided me around some hedges, before saying, "Hey, you two."

Hatake Sakumo grinned widely at Kushina, a hand placed on the top of young Hatake Kakashi's head. The boy's black eyes locked onto me as he eyed me suspiciously. I wiggled my fingers in a shy hello, willing another blush across my cheeks.

"Hello, Kushina-san," Sakumo greeted. "This is my son, Kakashi-chan. Kakashi-chan, introduce yourself."

Kakashi thrust his hands in his pocket and stepped in front of Sakumo, glaring at the ground. "... I'm Hatake Kakashi."

I feigned embarrassment, looking shyly away. Kushina nudged me in the back and I finally stepped towards Kakashi. "I-I'm Senju Naasica."

Silence fell between the two and Sakumo cleared his throat pointedly.

Kakashi sighed. As if swallowing a painful pill, he choked out, "... Do you... want to go play... with me?"

I stared at Kakashi, to all eyes I looked like a fit of shyness had overtaken me, but in reality I was thinking carefully. It was true that I had not completed Madara's lessons in manipulation and coercion, but I was fairly confident that I could at least befriend Kakashi to some extent on my own. He would grow to become a powerful shinobi, no one could deny that, and he was even favored to be the Hokage after Tsunade and before Naruto. He would make a wonderful ally, and at the moment, I had a chance to start that alliance.

"Um... I, um... actually..." I whispered, blushing brightly, "do you... doyoumaybewannatrainwithmeinstead?"

Kakashi blinked and Kushina rolled her eyes. Sakumo looked amused while Kakashi's brow furrowed as he tried to decipher my rushed words. When the young Hatake finally did, a triumphant gleam took to his eyes. "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Um, I brought my own kunai and shuriken," I said shyly, lowering my eyes.

"Tou-san told me I wasn't allowed to bring my own set," Kakashi said, adding a glare to his father. Sakumo rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"You can share with me," I offered, holding out my pouch. "We should go to the trees, get out of the way of the other kids. I don't want want one of the running out in front while we're training."

Kakashi nodded his head sagely. "Good idea. Come on, let's go!"

"R-Right!"

I hid my smile as Kakashi grabbed my hand and started pulling me away.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"I can't say that went as I expected it to be, but I'm glad you and Kakashi had fun together," Kushina said, smiling at me. "What would you say to another play date soon?"

I beamed brightly, wiping the sweat off my brow. Kakashi had been rather helpful in my training. Due to his size (which was roughly the same as mine), he'd known how to assist me with balancing better than Kushina did. And while Madara certainly could help me, he preferred I got it wrong, received the punishment (as incentive to get it right the next time), and continue the process until I got it right. Kakashi was nothing like that. Even if he was impatient, he was at least patient enough to take the time to adjust my position correctly each time.

"I would like that," I admitted honestly. "I would like that very much."

Kushina's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's so wonderful. I'm so happy for you, Naa-chan. What do you want for dinner? My treat!"

Kushina opened the door to our apartment, and I glanced back at the setting sun before entering the warm apartment. "Mmm... Udon, please. And I would like to make some dangos for dessert, too! Extra sweet."

"Alright," Kushina said, beaming. "Do you want to help me make the dangos?"

"Yes, please!"

Kushina ruffled my hair. "Then go wash up while I get started on dinner."

"Yes, Nee-chan."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I wrapped up the bundles of dangos I had pretended to eat in a neat cloth and held it close to my body. It was odd transporting actual items with me, but not impossible. It was no different than transferring clothes. When I reappeared in front of the cave and entered inside, Madara greeted me with the usual glance. He lifted himself up from his chair and shuffled to the middle of the cave.

Moving quietly, I headed towards him and presented the package of dangos. He took it gently, unwrapping it and eyeing its contents. "... Thank you. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes, Madara-sama."

"Start running."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

It was another week before my next play date. We met again at the park, only this time Kushina left to go shopping and Sakumo stayed at the park with us, watching over us.

"Tou-san's teaching me how to use the tanto," Kakashi told me, an almost childish bragging undertone in his voice. "Hey, are you entering the academy?"

"Uh-huh," I said. "I take it you are, too?"

Kakashi nodded his head in a short motion. "You're grips getting better."

"Nee-chan's been helping me a lot, too. My chakra control's better, I swear," I told him. Kakashi seemed to smile at me.

"I bet it's not as good as my control."  
"We'll just have to see about that," I said.

 _Be noticed. Show yourself as a strong kunoichi. Rise through the ranks. Gain power. Gain influence._

Kakashi looked over at the tree, running towards it. "First one to the top wins, then!"

I burst into a sprint, channeling chakra into my calves and the bottom of my feet. In a few seconds, I had caught up to Kakashi and we both jumped up onto the tree, sprinting vertically. It seemed Kakashi was equally adept at manipulating chakra throughout his body to give him a physical advantage. The two of us ran neck-to-neck, both of us moving as quickly as we could.

My left foot and Kakashi's right foot landed solidly at the top of the tree and we turned to look at each other, hearts pounding.

"Looks like a tie," Kakashi said approvingly, giving me an awarding glance. "... Guess you aren't so bad."

I gave him a childish grin. "Same to you. Do'ya know what class you'll be in?"

Kakashi nodded his head. "4-A."

My grin widened. "Same. Know anyone else in that class?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Just you now. But that's okay. I'm going to graduate in one year!"

"Good luck with that," I giggled. "Race you to the bottom."

"You're on!"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The following morning, there was an abrupt knock. I groaned from my bed and I heard Kushina walk past my bedroom, already dressed and prepared to leave for her mission for the day. I rubbed my eyes and yanked the covers off of me, just as I heard the front door open.

Kushina was surprised, because whoever she saw made her gasp.

Grabbing my silk house robe and tying it around me, I hurried into the front room, incredulous to who was there. Kushina moved aside, gesturing for the person to enter, and that's when I found out who it was.

Jiraiya.

Jiraiya's eyes landed on me, and it was like a visible weight was lifted off his shoulder. A huge smile fit on his face and he walked towards me, and kneeled down. "Hey there, hime. You gave everyone quite a scare, disappearing for almost two months."

I shrugged, trying to understand why he was here.

 _Perhaps he feels an obligation towards me?_ I reasoned. _I was Tsunade's cousin and... and it seemed that she cared for me deeply. Even if she did ultimately choose to abandon me without even a goodbye._

"I'm fine now," I told him. "I'm entering the academy soon enough, too."

"I heard. I, uh, just wanted to see for myself though, you know?" Jiraiya laughed. "It's good to see you again, hime. Doing anything today?"

I looked at Kushina. She was smiling and she shook her head.

"No," I told him.

"Then how about I take you out?" Jiraiya offered, wiggling his eyebrows. "Come on, kiddo. I know just the places to go."

I forced a smile on my face, blushing and looking away shyly. "I... I guess. Hey, Nii-chan, seeing how I'm entering the academy, do you wanna help me? I wanna try the leaf exercise just like Nee-chan could, but..."

Jiraiya looked over at Kushina, as if seeking permission, and when she beamed he turned back at me and gave me the thumbs-up. "Consider it done. Go get dressed. We'll grab breakfast on our way out.


	4. Above

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fanart was created by Mai-Shibata-Uchiha on deviantART.

**_"Some men just want to watch the world burn."_ **

**_-Alfred_ **

_Tsunade carried me, holding me close to her chest and humming. My eyelids were growing heavier with each note and I gave a large yawn. My hands curled into fists and I feebly wrapped my arms around her neck. I was too small to make it all the way around. My head was resting in the crook of her neck on her left side, my face turned out. My right hand carried up to my mouth, curled into a fist and I gripped her shoulder cloth nearest to my jaw, and my left hand gripped her pigtail lightly on her right side._

_Tsunade started to subtly rock me, still humming softly._

_My eyes finally drifted shut and another yawn escaped me._

_Several minutes passed before Tsunade began to carry me back to my room, all the while I continued to fight off sleep. She gently placed me in my crib, smiling lovingly and kissing the top of my forehead._

" _Sweet dreams, little sapling," Tsunade whispered._

_I slipped off into a pleasant dreamland._

. . .

. .

.

I held up my hand proudly, each leaf sticking to each of my fingers, looking triumphant. I was covered in sweat and bruises, and scratches dotted my form, but I felt victorious. It had taken another two weeks since Jiraiya's surprise visit to _finally_ be able to achieve the leaf exercise. In only a handful of days, I would be starting the academy, too, and my ANBU guards would be outta my life.

Jiraiya had spent the majority of the day assisting me with my chakra control. He took me out for lunch and breakfast before dropping me off back home for dinner. He stayed for a couple days, but we did not train for the rest of them (he was determined to do more childish indulgences with me, such as swimming, going to the park, or the toy store... though that last one seemed more for him than me, considering the amount of single moms in that place). He had to leave again, though, and he promised that when he returned he would assist me with training again.

I wasn't entirely certain what prompted his interest in me. Perhaps it was because I was Tsunade's last family member, and he loved Tsunade and thus wanted to help me. Maybe it was because he was impressed that I survived on my own for two months; after being effectively kidnapped from Konohagakure without any proper training. It might have just been because, and this is what I suspected, he felt an obligation towards me on behalf of Tsunade. That because _his_ teammate, and the woman he was massively in love with, abandoned me, that it was _his_ duty to take care of me. Something he had originally failed at due to the kidnapping, but was now trying to compensate for that.

Madara suspected something similar.

Madara looked up at me, the moonlight catching his hair and making it glow a pretty silver. He may have been an older man, but there were times where I seemed to forget that. For just a brief moment, I wouldn't see a frail, wrinkled man, but instead I would find myself staring at a young, vibrant Madara at his prime. "Hmph. Took you long enough. Come back down, now. How much chakra do you have?"

Walking down the tree, I dropped the leaves and wiped at my sweat. My feet touched the rocky, cold floor and I cocked my head. "Um... about a quarter, Madara-sama."

"Then that's enough. Have you read the books I've assigned you?"

"Yes, Madara-sama," I responded, suppressing a yawn. One of the advantages to not attending the academy yet was the ability to sleep in, which was much appreciated given my nightly training. During the day, Kushina would usually attend in-village missions, (she wouldn't be taking any higher level missions until after I started the academy and entered a routine) and left me to my own devices for the most part. I took this time to either train, read, or sleep. Occasionally, I would go to the Hatake residence to keep up appearances with Kushina.

Kakashi was rather entertaining to train with - we had a sort of rivalry going on, which was something I was _not_ against. He was a good way to measure my ability and how much farther I needed to come. His chakra control was superior to my own, but I had larger reserves. He was stronger than me, but I was faster than him. We balanced each other out, so to speak, and he seemed to be the only child I could put up with for so long. It made Kushina happy, as well as as Sakumo, so that was a nice bonus.

Madara usually assigned specific routines for me to do outside of our training. Most of the time it was subtle control exercises, but lately it had transitioned into reading texts. The texts consisted of history, strategy and psychology. The history was something I would be forced to learn in the academy, so Madara wanted me to be shown to have a leg-up from the others, so I needed to study the material beforehand. Strategy was a necessary trait, and while Madara instructed me personally on it, a little extra viewpoint wouldn't hurt. Psychology was a must for manipulation, a trait I would have to learn slowly.

The latest set of readings focused on the treaties with the other villages, and the human psyche of the average civilian.

It was kind of scary how specific it was. And how just anyone could up and read it.

"Manipulation is a key factor to gaining influence," Madara said, as we walked. It would seem he would be multitasking lessons tonight, then. "If you let people think too much they're more likely to make a logical choice. If you can guide them to _feel_ a certain way—a way that benefits _you_ —you'll have a much easier time getting what you want. This is what emotional manipulation is all about.

"The most ideal target would be someone who has little control over their emotions. In the shinobi world, though, the ideal target becomes nonexistent. There are some key things that still apply, however. Something I'm certain you've noticed. You need to be charismatic, _charming_. It's a trait that I lacked, and Hashirama had. It was one of larger reasons he was chosen over myself. It's not the only form of manipulation, but for your purposes, it would be better to be _liked_ and _loved_ , rather than _feared_ and _hated_. When you are older and are capable of moving on to the more... violent... parts of our plans, you will learn to manipulate using the more... negative techniques.

"Kunoichis are often chosen as infiltrators, due to their advantage. As sexist as it seems, kunoichis are the ideal manipulators, because they can target a more wide-spread audience. You will become a kunoichi, for the most part, so do not be afraid to use the tools that you have been given," Madara said flatly, finally stopping in front of a dark pool of water. It was deep in the cave, and there was a little hole at the top where a trickle of moonlight was allowed in.

"... Do you mean...?"  
  


"Yes," Madara said bluntly. "Use your sexuality to your advantage. For the moment, you are still physically a child and have not reached your ideal age. I am informing you of this now, though, so you may begin preparing yourself and reading other texts. I understand that it can be... difficult for some kunoichis to use this. Get over it."

I blinked in surprise at his bluntness, but nodded my head. I doubted I would ever _really_ need to use anything more than a handful of touches. But it was a good ability to have in case I ever _did_ need to use it. Extremely doubtful that I would, but I would rather have the capabilities of manipulating someone with my body, and never _ever_ using it... than needing to manipulate someone with my body and being unable to.

Besides, it was nice that Madara had given me such a large heads-up on the lesson.

"It's true Tobi didn't need to use this sort of art, but then again, he wasn't trying to climb Konoha's political ladder too," Madara murmured. "I do not know _exactly_ what you'll be facing, and I strongly doubt you'll need to use these techniques for our plans. However, it is my job to ensure that you are not placed in a situation you are ill-prepared for. No matter how low those chances are, or how uncomfortable."

"... And will you be teaching me these techniques yourself?"

Madara actually looked at me at that, scrutinizing me. A long minute passed of uncomfortable silence before Madara cracked a small smile. "I don't know if I should be flattered you don't seem to mind the idea, or insulted you're so indifferent to it. We will not be going _that_ far into learning. I can show you the basics - minor touching, a few flirtatious moves - but most importantly, I will show you how to dissuade unwanted attention."

I cocked my head, flushed in embarrassment, but tried to ignore it. "... Dissuade unwanted attention?"

"Undoubtedly there will be others who will want to influence you to their advantage. When you reach your... older years... your body will become more difficult to control, which is perfectly normal," Madara said patiently. "Our main focus will be regaining control over your body and dissuading unwanted attention without hindering any chances of alliances."

 _Then why didn't you just say that in the first place, and bat around the idea of me using my body as a tool...?_ I thought irritably. Sometimes it seemed like Madara just generally enjoyed annoying me and seeing what made me uncomfortable. Which probably wasn't wrong, and he was probably also trying to see just how far I would be willing to go for our cause. After all, he thought he could trust Tobi, but look how that turned out.

"Now we will move on to the water-walking exercise," Madara declared, gesturing to the water. "I suggest you start bringing several pairs of swimsuits and towels, unless you want to return home wet. When you can hold your position above the water for half an hour without falling in, and being able to ignore the distractions, we will move on to you actually moving across the water. When you can then hold your position above the water for an hour, half ignoring distractions, the rest spent dodging and evading whatever Zetsu and I want to throw at you, we will move on to you performing the leaf exercise on all ten of your fingers _while_ evading. Begin."

I suppressed a sigh and took a tentative step out on the water.

I stood on top of the water for a solid minute before Madara whacked me over the head and I fell in. When I came up, spluttering, Madara seemed to smirk at me. "You got distracted, try again."

"Shouldn't that also count as evading you?" I asked, annoyed.

"It's not my fault you were within reaching distance of me. Try going out to the center of the pond."

"You're just going to throw stuff at me," I accused.

"Not for the first thirty minutes," Madara promised.

"..." I gave a sigh. "... Yes, Madara-sama."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Oh, look at you," Kushina sighed, squeezing my hand as the two of us walked to the academy. "Already off and on your way to the academy. I wish I had a camera..."

"Nee-chan," I whined, "don't be so embarrassing!"

Kushina giggled, swooping down and picking me up. She swung me around in her arms and I wiggled in annoyance before she finally set me down. "Do you have everything you need? Your lunch? Your pouch?"

"Yes, yes, _yes_ ," I sighed, playing the perfect role of a disgruntled child. It wasn't too hard, seeing how that Kushina's actions actually _were_ embarrassing and annoying. I didn't _truly_ mind them, finding them rather endearing, but it was still a little much.

Kushina held my hand as we walked into the academy. There were a large group of people, both milling around the entrance and actually entering the academy. Kushina guided me through the crowd and into the building. She would walk me to my classroom before leaving for the parent/guardian entrance assembly.

When we reached my classroom, Kushina gave me another smile and kneeled down to look at me at eye level. "Tonight, there's someone I want you to meet. If that's okay with you."

"Of course. See you after school, Nee-chan."

Kushina kissed my forehead before she left. I entered the classroom, glancing around before I spotted a familiar silver head. I cut through the small throng of girls that had gathered a little ways from him, looking at him and giggling. Some of them shot me glares, but I ignored them, and sat next to Kakashi.

"Senju-hime," Kakashi greeted me formally, bowing his head.

"Hatake-san," I returned.

"Did he say _hime_?"

"Wait... Senju...?"

"Hatake, as in _the White Fang?_ "

We both ignored the excited whispers of the hopeful kunoichis.

"I see you already have a collection of fan girls, Kakashi-kun," I said slyly. Kakashi decided to gift me with a mild glare. "How's Sakumo-san?"

"Tou-san's fine. He wants to thank you and Kushina-san for the dangos," Kakashi said.

I nodded. "Nee-chan wanted to thank Sakumo-san for watching over me last time. Are you doing anything after school?"

Kakashi gave a short nod. "Training, you?"

"Nee-chan wants me to meet someone. When I'm done, I'll see if I can train. Same place?"

"As if I would train anywhere else," Kakashi said dryly.

My lips twitched. "Recognize anyone?"

Kakashi shook his head, eyeing our growing classroom. The girls were still gathered near us in the front, giggling and blushing. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and question how they could _possible_ find Kakashi attractive when they were... what? Six? Seven? I knew Kakashi and I were the exceptions to enter the academy, the usual being six to seven. It was rare for a five-year old to enter, and even rarer that four-year olds would. And Kakashi and I were... Four? Five, maybe? _I_ was four (though I would turn five soon enough). Kakashi graduated when he was five, so he only recently turned five, or would soon enough.

That was another odd thing.

It was so... _weird_ to think that a _four year old_ was entering this academy. That it was just accepted. But I understood the differences in this world from my previous world. It wasn't just the morals and chakra. It was a _physical_ difference. My body felt _stronger_ than it ever had in my previous life. Even stronger, more durable, more flexible, more _superior_ than ever before _._ It was a fundamental difference - it was like this version of humans were forced to evolve and adapt in different ways. In my world, we didn't have chakra, but we were clever. Most of the time, at least. We grew in a different way than these version of humans did.

It was so... so...

Well.

My eyes rested on a couple of familiar faces. Kurenai and Asuma were in our class. I was fairly confident that Obito, Rin, and Gai would be joining us too, along with a few others. This would be a prime chance to create alliances with them - seeing how they would become rather excellent shinobi and kunoichi when they were older. Or at least most of them would. Rin would die, so an alliance with her would be useless in the long run.

"Do you know how long our lunch break is?" I asked Kakashi, glancing at him.

Kakashi didn't respond for a moment, his eyes focused on the board at the front. "... An hour, I think."

"... That's a _long_ break."

It seemed like Kakashi wanted to shrug, but decided against it. My lips twitched as I started to recognize what was going on.

 _He's finally started to try and hide his emotions,_ I mused. _That explains why he was so open the first time we met - now he'll try and become the perfect shinobi like his father. When Sakumo dies, I believe a month or so around Kakashi's graduation date, he'll try and suppress all emotions to surpass his father._

_That's what Madara wants me to do. At least on the inside. On the outside, I will need to be charming and charismatic._

_It looks like I'll have to wear a mask for a while longer. But when our plan has succeeded, I won't have to anymore. No one will have to. Our world will be perfect, or at the very least, on its way to perfection._

I felt a thrill run through me at that, a smirk crawling its way on my face as my gaze darkened.

"... what do you think?"

I blinked, the smirk vanishing as I tried to recall what Kakashi was saying. "... Sounds good."

Kakashi nodded. "Good. So eat your lunch thirty minutes before the lunch period and we can spend the hour training."

Oh. Was that what he was asking for? Simple enough. I was going to do that anyway. "What did you bring for lunch, anyway?"

Kakashi opened his backpack that he had slung behind his chair and pulled out a small bento box. I went ahead and pulled out my own bento, unwrapping the orange-red scarf Kushina had tied around it. When I finished unwrapping it, I noticed a small note tucked under it. Suppressing the urge to groan, and ignoring Kakashi's amused snickers, I opened the letter.

_Good luck! I know you can do it._

_Love,_

_Kushina_

"Don't. Say. A. Word," I hissed out, blushing brightly. Kakashi looked immensely amused as he started to unwrap his own bento from the white scarf Sakumo had tied around it.

And when he was done, there, dead center, was a note.

I giggled and Kakashi looked aghast. He quickly read it, and shoved it in his pockets and turned to me. "This _never_ happened."

"I don't even know what you're talking about," I said.

Kakashi seemed to grin at me, but before he could say anything else, the teacher entered the room. He was a tall, lean man, and wore a Chuunin flak. His hair was a dull blonde, and his brown eyes scanned over us. "Everyone, take a seat."

A small hush fell across the classroom as all the children filled up the seats, with only a few being left empty. Kakashi and I both set our lunches underneath our desk, and unintentionally, with perfect synch we sat up straight, folded our hands into our laps and focused on the teacher.

"My name is Chōyaku Aki, you may refer to me as Aki-sensei, or Chōyaku-sensei if you must. I will be your sensei for the next year, unless you are one of the very few to graduate earlier than that," Aki said, his eyes settling on Kakashi and myself before he continued to sweep over the classroom. "The academy has an adjusting routine, dependant on where you are. In order to graduate, you will need to take and pass the exams. Exams will be held twice a year, one within the next week, and one at the end of the school year. You are not required to take the exams until the end of the four years you have attended the academy.

"This year, we will be focusing on building up your strength, knowledge, basic taijutsu and at the end of the year, we will be touching over chakra. Your second year will consist of learning chakra control, taijutsu, basic infiltration, espionage and history. Your third year will move on to the basic ninjutsu, genjutsu, survival, taijutsu and more on history. Your fourth year will be more advanced ninjutsu, genjutsu, survival, taijutsu, history and the inner-workings of Konoha. If you choose to stay that long. Right now, I see a total of one-hundred and twenty-nine potential shinobi. By the fourth year, I suspect we will be down to fifteen, maybe twenty."

Quiet whispers broke out and many of the students started to glance around nervously. Aki pressed on, unhindered. "The life of a shinobi is a difficult one. You will need to be disciplined, motivated, and _sincere_. I know the majority of you signed up because you thought it was _cool_ or _fun_ , but I will tell you now: you are wrong. Now I want everyone to get out of their seats and follow me. We'll test and see where you already are."

The students all began to stand up and push in their chairs, Kakashi and I exchanged solemn glances, and we lined up in front of Aki. He stared at us another moment before the door to the front part of our classroom opened and a young Uchiha boy entered. He was out of breath, panting and blushing brightly. "S-Sorry I'm late, Sensei. Kaa-san and Tou-san are out on a mission, so no one remembered to wake me up in time and - "

"Uchiha Obito," Aki said levelly, "please join your fellow classmates in line after dropping your things off at an empty desk."

Obito sheepishly nodded his head and did as he asked, choosing to stand in the back of line, while Kakashi and I remained in the front. Kakashi gave a quiet _hmph_ , and turned away from Obito, muttering under his breath, " _Late_ on the first day? How childish."

I choose not to respond, staying silent as I followed behind Aki. The class slowly trailed behind Aki, some of them already chattering amiably and laughing quietly. Aki guided us out of the academy building into the large training grounds behind the academy. There was a fairly big track, some hurdles placed off to the side and in the center of the track were two chalk-drawn rings. Most likely for sparing purposes.

"Everyone line up at the start line," Aki toned, pulling out a clipboard and stopwatch from his flak. Kakashi and I were the first ones to reach the line, and we both stood side by side. We exchanged glances and I felt a taunting smirk on my face.

"Ready to lose _again_?" I asked, a mocking tone in my voice.

"This time I'll win," Kakashi said arrogantly, already lowering himself. I mimicked his position and started building up chakra in my calves and the bottom of my feet.

"Make way for the next Hokage!"

Kakashi turned to glare at Obito as he shoved his way through the crowd to the front. He glanced at us and smirked. "I hope you two aren't prepared to win or anything. _I'll_ be the fastest."

Kakashi didn't say anything, choosing to ignore Obito and focus on the track. I gave the boy an amused look, a bit disbelieving. It was ironic how the future Tobi was currently bragging about being the next Hokage.

Mistaking my amusement for belittlement, Obito bristled and glared at me. I blinked in surprise before shrugging and focusing back on the track.

"Seven laps around the track," Aki said flatly. "... Go."

Kakashi and I sprinted out of the group of children and within moments we were already halfway across the track.

 _Hmph. This is nothing compared to the sprints Madara makes me do, full speed, barefoot, blind and through his sadistic courses,_ I thought smugly. _Besides, while Kakashi could still kick my ass in a spar, there's no way I'm going to let him beat me in a race!_

I pushed an extra burst of chakra into my feet and broke out ahead of him, my legs pumping as I felt the pleasant, burning, chill of the chakra racing through my system. My feet hit the ground, digging into the soft earth before propelling me forward. I was the first to cross the finish line, and I reached the group of children soon afterwards, weaving through them and sprinting on ahead.

 _It seems Kakashi, Asuma and myself are the only ones who know how to channel chakra into our feet,_ I thought, noticing how Asuma was third, though he was a fair bit behind. _I don't see Gai in our class, so I can't gauge how fast I really am at this point. I'm surprised Asuma knows though, as he always came across as the lazy sort, but I suppose Hiruzen must have trained him_ somewhat. _Kurenai comes from a lesser-clan... Genjutsu, I think, so I'm not sure if she should already know how to do this._

I heard the soft pounding of shoes behind me as Kakashi started to catch up. My eyes narrowed and I channeled another burst of chakra into my feet and took off.

 _Kakashi can keep his taijutsu advantage. I am_ not _giving up my superior speed after that hell Madara's put me through already to get it. And the hell I will continue to go through to keep it!_

It seemed that there weren't any other Clan children in my class - at least none of the major ones. And if they were, they obviously weren't motivated and thus probably not worth the attention. An annoyance, but nothing too bad. At least it made my job easier - Madara wouldn't want me wasting my time on those that didn't even make an impact in our plans. The less people in my class, the less I would need to interact with on a daily basis.

Around and around Kakashi and I went until we finally finished our seventh lap - me winning of course. I stumbled to a slow jog, then walk, then stop, after reaching the finish, grinning triumphantly at Kakashi. He shot me a glare, but the amusement in his eyes made it lose its impact. I moved to stand by Aki, and he moved towards me.

Kakashi held out his right hand, his two fingers extended and I reached out with my right hand, my own fingers extended. We hooked our fingers, grinning at each other.

"Thanks for the challenge," I said.

"Thanks for the race," Kakashi returned.

"I'm not surprised you two already know to do that," Aki said, quirking an eyebrow. "Hokage-sama wanted me to talk to you after school, but seeing how everyone else is still on their second, third, or in Asuma-kun's case, fifth lap, I think now will do just fine. I take it you both intend to graduate early?"

Kakashi nodded, and I hesitated before nodding. I wasn't sure what Madara wanted me to do exactly - he said we would discuss it after my first day, but I imagined he wanted me to graduate fairly early, too.

"After I finish evaluating where everyone is," Aki said, "you two will need to stay after to do a further evaluation. Depending on where you are, you may be switching to one of the more advanced classes."

"Yes, Aki-sensei," Kakashi and I said.

"Go ahead and cool down. I suspect we'll have a bit," Aki said dryly.

Kakashi and I started to climb back up the grassy hill to the academy and chose a nice, warm, sunny spot. We sat in front of each other first, spreading our legs out so the bottom of our shoes touched. Kakashi offered his hands and I grabbed them, before I started to pull him towards me. We had developed our own cool-down routine after our numerous training sessions, Sakumo had assisted us.

After counting to forty-five, we switched and Kakashi pulled me towards him. Another forty-five seconds later, we rolled our bodies to sit shoulder, to shoulder and stretched our legs perpendicular to our body. We began to reach for our toes, I being able to wrap my hands around my feet, and Kakashi just being able to wrap his hands around his toes.

As we continued to stretch, the rest of the students started to finish. By the time we were all stretched out, only a few more students were on their last lap. Most of them were red-faced, and panting heavily. Even Asuma looked a bit winded and tired, but Kakashi and I were relatively unaffected. Sure, we were still sweaty, but we had our time to cool down and catch our breath.

Aki remained mostly indifferent, merely marking down the times next to each name. The last student to arrive was a nameless civilian, who was tittering on the brink of falling over when he stumbled across the line.

"Alright. Now we'll move on to upper-body strength," Aki said, turning and climbing up the hill. "Follow me."

Groans drifted around the students, while others looked despairingly. Kakashi shot me a smug look and I folded my arms across my chest and pouted. It felt childish and silly, but I had to consciously remember I was supposed to be a _child_. Kakashi always had me beat when it came to upper-body strength, and he probably always would. Something he would lord over me, and the fact that he was already a couple centimeters taller than me.

Aki took us back up the school, were we could see some metal bars drilled into the side of the school. Some were stacked higher up than others, and they were positioned in a staircase fashion.

"Everyone get in line. First time, you'll see how many pull-ups you can do. Second time, you'll see how long you can keep your chin above the bar," Aki said.

Each of the children filed in line, Kakashi in front, with myself behind him. The more exhausted children tried their damndest to be last in line, but Obito, despite still red-faced and sweaty, made a beeline for third.

"I guess you're not _so_ bad," Obito whispered to us. "But running is girly anyway. It's all about the pull-ups."

I shot him another amused look, wondering how he could _actually_ say it with such conviction, like he sincerely believed what he was saying. Kakashi went first, leaping up onto the highest bar without any assistance or prompting. Then he started to pull himself up, then lower back down. I could see his small muscles working and I could practically feel the chakra radiate from him.

He made it five more past his old record of 53, before he dropped to the ground, panting heavily. He shot me a smug look and I glowered at him. When he walked past us, I stuck my nose up in the air and jumped up to the highest bar.

"Begin," Aki said.

Channeling chakra into my arms, I began pulling myself up. I made it to 47 (a new record for me), before I had to stop and drop back down to the ground. I wiped away at the sweat on my brow and pursed my lips, making my way to the back of the line. Kakashi greeted me with a small dip of his head.

"Congrats on the new record," I said.

"Same to you," Kakashi said, dropping his voice to a quiet whisper, "How far do you think they'll place us?"

"Fourth year," I said immediately, thinking how Kakashi graduated within a year. "At least for you. I can't say for certain where they'd place me."

"Have you tried any ninjutsu?" Kakashi asked.

I hesitated. "... A little. My wood-style, actually, but, um... nothing else. You?"

"I've started substitution and Genjutsu cloning," Kakashi admitted. "No change in chakra, though."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "It's not like I did it on purpose. I just wanted to see my nature, and um... when I was... outside of Konoha... I just... had to use it. Nee-chan told me she would help me with my substitution and stuff when we actually got to the stuff in the academy."

Kakashi nodded his head in understanding. "Tou-san promised to start teaching me chakra-change after I graduated."

 _Good luck with that promise_ , I thought dryly.

Obito joined us about that time, flushed, with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

"So how are you liking these assessments, next Hokage?" Kakashi asked sardonically.

"Shuddup," Obito muttered.

"I'm Senju Naasica," I said pointedly, not really in the mood for a pissing contest between the two. "This is Hatake Kakashi."

Obito blinked at us. "Senju? Hatake? ... I've heard those names before. I'm Uchiha Obito."

"I would _hope_ you've heard those names before," Kakashi said, rolling his eyes. "You idiot, the Senju founded Konoha with the Uchiha, and Konoha's _White Fang_ is _Hatake_ Sakumo. I'm his son."

At the mention of his father, Kakashi's chest puffed up with pride and he looked down on Obito from over his nose. Obito glared at him, blushing brightly from embarrassment at his lack of knowledge. It wasn't really his fault - I doubt any of the other children (except maybe Gai) were as obsessed with training as Kakashi and myself were. "So do you know anyone else in this class, Obito-kun? Kakashi-kun and I only knew each other when we came in here."

Obito blinked at me, forgetting his anger at Kakashi for the moment. "Oh, um, yeah. There's Ain Takashi - he's a blacksmith's son, Tou-san buys his weapons from him. Kinda a big-headed guy. Sarutobi Asuma - I've seen him and his little brother around the Eastern park a lot - "

Obito continued to list everyone, pointing out a few. I didn't recognize any of them except the obvious ones (Asuma, and Kurenai). Obito didn't know some of them (one of them being Rin, which surprised me, but I suppose it was this class where they met or something), and by the time he finished, Kakashi was at the front of the line again.

Kakashi shot me another smug look, as he showed, yet again, how superior his upper body strength was to mine.

The brat.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

We continued the assessments, doing sit-ups and push-ups, then testing our flexibility (I was the most flexible, _ha!_ ). By the time the rest of the student body was finished, it was roughly half an hour before lunch and Aki finally brought us back inside. Most of the students were struggling to stand, and when they entered the classroom, they slouched in their seats. Kakashi and I gladly took our seats and we pulled out our lunches, setting them in our lap and nibbling on them as discretely as we could.

Aki stood up at the front of the class room, pulling out a new piece of chalk and starting to write. "We'll first begin with math until lunch. Everyone, please take out your notebook and pens and listen closely: I'll only explain it once."

I fought back a smile as I saw several of the students looked horrified at that.

_Just like in the shinobi world, you'll be forced to learn and adapt to different knowledge. Thankfully math was always something I've been good at._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

At lunch, Kakashi and I practically sprinted for outside.

"Where do you wanna go?" I asked, ducking down another hallway, Kakashi right behind me.

"Let's get to the roof. No distractions there," Kakashi suggested. The added: _and no fan girls_ was left unsaid. Ever since Kakashi had shown just how capable he was, his collection of fan girls had risen dramatically. The moment we were outside, we turned on our heels and leapt up onto the wall, starting to race up it vertically. We were on the roof before any of the other children even made it outside.

I held up my hand and Kakashi gave me a quick high-five.

"Help me practice with substitution?" Kakashi asked.

"Sure. I'll throw something at you, and you try to substitute in time," I said slyly.

Kakashi hesitated. "... Give me a five second warning before you throw. I'm not _that_ good."

"'Kay," I said, walking around the roof and picking up a handful of pebbles. Kakashi stood a good distance from me and I measure the pebble in my hand. My lips quirked down into a frown before I said, "Warning."

Then, once I counted to five, I threw the rock as hard as I could without chakra enhancements. Kakashi gave a subtle wince when it hit his shoulder, before he substituted away with another rock.

"Ow. Don't throw it so hard."

"The pain will help you remember," I said, smiling sadistically as I recalled Madara's words.

Kakashi snorted. "Bring it on, then."

"With pleasure."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"... that's it for today. Class dismissed."

Kakashi and I waited in our seats as the class started to file out. Well. I waited in my seat, while Kakashi hid under the table (so the fan girls would think he had left). It took some time, but it was eventually us two and Aki.

We approached Aki and Aki set his clipboard down, giving his amused looks. "By your physical scores alone, you could make it to third year, easy. I'll be testing your chakra control, though. Do you two know the leaf exercise?"

"I can hold seven leaves total on each finger," I said.

"I can hold all ten," Kakashi said smugly.

"Only 'cause you don't have as much chakra as me," I snorted.

"Please. In a couple years I'll have _more_ chakra than you. Don't try that with me now," Kakashi retorted.

"I call _bull_ to that," I giggled.

Aki cleared his throat. "I only need to see you hold a single leaf to your forehead for a minute, each. Then I'll have you both fill out a worksheet to the best of your ability."

Aki held out two individual leaves and Kakashi and I took them carefully. I stuck mine to my forehead, suddenly grateful Madara had made me learn the leaf exercise. Without him, I would have undoubtedly failed this portion of the test due to my insane reserves and lack of finite control over them.

The minute ticked by slowly, but we both succeeded in the task. The worksheet was a simple worksheet filled with basic algebraic, projectile motion, and estimation problems. It also had a handful of history questions and one essay. I would roughly place the difficulty at middle-school level in my old world.

Once it completed (Kakashi actually finished ahead of me), and we turned it in, Aki graded each sheet quickly.

"Finally, you'll spar," Aki said, the moment he finished grading the papers. "Tomorrow, I'll inform the two of you of your new placements, where you'll be and when you'll be there."

"Yes, Sensei."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The door was unlocked when I entered the apartment. I opened it slowly, peering in and the scent of cooked meat drifted to my nose. A pleasant smile found its way across my lips. Stepping in, I closed the door behind me and took off my shoes, slipping into slippers and saying. " _Tadaima_."

"Okaerinasai," I heard Kushina respond from the kitchen. "How was school?"

"Good. They want to advance me and Kakashi-kun. I don't know how far, yet, but I'll find out tomorrow."

"Congratulations! Is that why you stayed after? I was just about to send out a couple clones to look for you..."

"Yes, sorry for worrying you, Nee-chan," I said.

Kushina stepped out of the kitchen, her green apron spotless, but her hands covered in sauce and other ingredients. She beamed at me. "I wasn't worried. I knew the ANBU were still watching over you."

I frowned at that. "How long will they keep watching me?"

Kushina frowned as well. "I think they officially end at midnight tonight."

"I see. I'm going to go ahead and wash up. I take it dinner won't be long?"

Kushina's frown disappeared and she nodded. "Right. Did you spar today? You're covered in scratches. At this rate, we'll have to buy antibiotic ointment in the bulk."

"Probably wouldn't hurt," I said, smiling sheepishly. "Kakashi-kun and I sparred today."

Kushina rolled her eyes, turning away and heading back into the kitchen. "Honestly, you two... when you're done, go ahead and set the table for three, please."

"'Kay."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I sat at the kitchen table, watching as Kushina sat down a large steaming bowl of rice. She untied her apron, hanging it on the nearby rack before there was a knock at the door. "Come on in."

I couldn't see from my seat who was entering, but their chakra signature felt vaguely familiar. When they turned around the corner and entered the kitchen, I blinked in surprise. Minato gave me a sunny smile, his blue eyes twinkling with warm amusement. Kushina gave him a coy smile. "How is that you always manage to arrive _just in time_ for food?"

Minato blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Kushina-chan. I guess I just have great timing?"

Kushina rolled her eyes. "Hmph. Take a seat, then. Have you met Naasica-chan before?"

"We have," I answered as Minato took a seat in between mine and Kushina's normal seats. "He's Jiraiya-sama's student. Right? It's been a while, Minato-san."

Minato gave me a wink as Kushina sat down at the table. "Not _that_ long, Naasica-hime. I'm glad to see you well. I know Jiraiya-sensei was worried about you, but he and I were out of the village on a mission when we finally got word."

"Thank you for your concern. I'm sorry for the worry," I said politely, bowing my head.

Minato looked embarrassed, another light blush dusting across his features. "There's no need to be so polite, hime. Er, I mean, unless you really want to - "

 _No wonder he was a favored Kage,_ I thought, amused. _He's so completely open and there's a certain boyish charm to him. And Madara wants me to be charismatic like him? It'd be curious to see how his presence shifts when he's on the battlefield. I'm sure there's a lot I could learn from him, too._

"Sorry," I squeaked, forcing a blush to cross over my own cheeks and I lowered my eyes. "I'm, um, not very used to you yet, so I'm sorry if I came across as overly-polite, or distant. I, just, um..."

"Maa, maa," Minato said, raising his hands in a calming gesture, "it's quite alright. Kushina-chan told me that you joined the academy today, yes?"

"Oh, yes."

"How was that like?" Minato asked, his tone showing genuine interest, and he leaned forward. Kushina seemed rather pleased at this question, her eyes softening with warmth when she looked at him.

"Oh. It was... interesting. Kakashi-kun and I were rather advanced compared to the rest of the class," I said, "so Aki-sensei made us stay after to take this test. We'll find out tomorrow how advanced we are."

"Kakashi-kun?" Minato said, blinking at that. "You mean _Hatake_ Kakashi?"

"That's right," Kushina said, glancing over at Minato in realization. "You're privately tutoring Sakumo's son. I almost forgot that... it's been... what? A year now?"

Minato smiled and nodded his head. "That's right. I owed Sakumo-san a rather huge favor, and Sakumo knew how much I want to become a sensei, so it's a win-win for everyone. You must be the friend Kakashi-kun mentioned. He didn't specify a name, so I wasn't sure..."

"Mm. I suppose so. Ah... may I eat now?"

"Oh," Minato and Kushina said in surprise, both of them blushing.

"I almost forgot about the food," Kushina admitted sheepishly. "Go ahead, Naa-chan."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"I've entered the academy," I told Madara. My legs were stretched on either side of me as I performed the splits. I lowered the upper-half of my body to the ground, pressing my belly into the dirt, and stretched out my arms. I began to count to sixty.

"Graduate as early as you can," Madara said immediately.

I blinked in surprised at that, lifting my head up from the floor to look at him. "You don't want me to try and make alliances with the others?"

"Are there any clan heirs in your class?" At my head shake, Madara raised an eyebrow. "Then why do you want to stay?"

"Well... Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Rin and Obito are in my class," I pointed out. "And they'll all become exceptional shinobi. Obito even joins our cause."

"He does not," Madara spat. "He betrayed us in the end. His heart was too weak. I have been considering what to do with him and the Tobi persona and I have come to a conclusion. _He will not become Tobi_."

I sat up straight, my eyes widening. Obito _not_ becoming Tobi? In what world was that? Did that mean Madara didn't _want_ a Tobi? That he would not be forming the Akatsuki? Or did he think someone else should become Tobi? But who? It would have to be an Uchiha, someone who could wield the Sharingan, at the very least. But I couldn't think of anyone off the top of my head. Did Madara want to kidnap a young Uchiha child and have me train and raise him to be an obedient tool, maybe?

A frown marred my features. "Who do you wish to become Tobi, _Shukun_?"

Madara appraised me with a calculating look. "When you are ready, I will tell you. For now, I want you to focus on your training and graduate as early as you can. You need power, woman. Much of it."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

"When you are done stretching, I believe it's time to start weapon training. The first weapon you will learn will be the _gunbai._ "

"Your war fan?" I questioned. "But... I don't have a wind-nature."

Madara shook his head. "It doesn't matter if you don't naturally have the nature. When I'm done with you, you'll be able to use it and the fire-nature. It will take more chakra, yes, but you have plenty to spare."

I bit my bottom lip, bringing my legs together and rolling over onto my belly. I arched my back, walking back with my hands and curling my legs up. I counted to thirty, the tips of my toes reaching the top of my head, before I relaxed. For my final stretch, the Scorpion pose, I rested on my arms on the ground before bending them at ninety-degrees. I put all my weight on my forearms and lifted myself off the ground. I could feel the pleasant burn in my abdominal area and I let out a slow breath, willing myself to remain in position. I curled my body, creating a backwards _c_ and looking up, I found my toes and feet above me.

I counted to sixty before I relaxed and stood up.

Madara had watched, his eyes distant and thoughtful. "You aren't as strong, in terms of muscle, as Hashirama, and I doubt you ever will be, but you're already more flexible than he was."

I took the compliment gladly, lowering my gaze and feeling my cheeks warm. "A-Ah, thank you, Madara-sama. But... Madara-sama... I must confess I'm confused. You told me long ago that I would not be able to separate my chakra. At least not for a _long_ time.... that I would be forced to use the Mokuton for at least a decade, or so."

Madara looked pleased that I remembered his words. "I did. And I meant it. Under _normal_ circumstances you couldn't. This is because it took Hashirama quite some time to figure it out, and I assumed it would take you even longer, or roughly about the same... _on your own_. But now, you see, you have _me_. And Hashirama long ago explained how he was able to learn other natures to me when we founded Konoha. However, Naasica, _you are forbidden from showing anyone else you are capable of doing this._ "

"Yes, Madara-sama."

"I will give you the basic lesson in changing your chakra first, and then we will move on to properly holding a gunbai."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

Madara turned away, using his kana as a makeshift cane, he began to walk towards the cave entrance. I followed docilely behind him. "Chakra is the spiritual energy in combination with our physical energy. Each individual person has a different combination of the mix, and a different form - this is how chakra sensors are able to differentiate from one chakra to the next precisely and consistently. Chakra is more defined than a thumbprint.

"Our natures develop from genes - this is how kekkei genkais are passed down. From our natures, we have a greater affinity for using different kinds of ninjutsu, and will have a harder time learning others. For example, a natural water-type would have more difficulty learning a fire-type rather than a wind-type. It does not, however, make it impossible. Chakra is still, in essence, a combination of our physical and spiritual energy... and each nature depends on the consistency. The wind type requires a ratio of 6:4, with six being the spiritual energy and four being the physical."

I chewed over that. It wasn't like anything I had read or heard about - consistency? Ratio? I knew chakra was a combination of physical and spiritual energy, but I didn't realize that chakra _natures_ depended on the ratio, too.

"I've never heard of something like that," I said carefully, following Madara outside the cave. He stopped, looking up at the night sky. Looking more closely, I could see that he had a small, smug, smile on his face.

He said, "I would be surprised if you had. It was something Hashirama figured out, but he couldn't accurately prove it, so he never voiced it. I, however, _did_ prove it. You cannot naturally change your given chakra nature, but you can adjust the ratio. It's something we learn to do subconsciously when learning a new technique, something the Uchiha do when we perform a technique we had just witnessed. It will be... difficult... to force, but necessary. It's the only way _you_ can change your chakra nature."

"How will I know I reach the right ratio?" I asked hesitantly.

Madara looked backed down at me. "I will be able to tell. We will train on ratios next time, though. Zetsu, bring me the stick."

Zetsu appeared through the cave wall, carrying a smooth, perfectly symmetrical stick and holding it out. Madara took it and Zetsu went back inside the cave, still smiling creepily. Madara held the stick out to me, and I took it carefully, surprised at how heavy it was.

"Before you can hold a gunbai, you must first know how to hold it by the handle. Are you right-handed or left?"

I stared down at the stick. "Naturally left-handed, but I am learning to use my right, as well."

"Good. Continue with that. First we will try two-handed grips - this is for more powerful attacks - and then we will move on to one-handed grips. Place your left hand..."


	5. Righteous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was made by my dear friend Annachan17 on deviantART.

**_"Some men just want to watch the world burn."_ **

**_-Alfred_ **

_Grandmother ran the soft brush across the back of my head, humming a nameless song._

" _You have such wild hair, little sapling," Grandmother observed, looking up at our reflection. My eyes met her in the mirror and unable to help myself, I smiled adoringly at her. Her eyes sparkled with warmth and she bent down to kiss my cheek. "That's okay. You get it from Hashirama, believe it or not."_

_My eyes must have conveyed my confusion, because Grandmother continued, smiling mysteriously - as if this were a secret only she and I shared now - "Oh yes, Hashirama had such hair troubles. It took him hours to get his hair free of knots most of the time. And he had such a bedhead when he woke up!"_

_I giggled._

" _But it seems like you have some of your father's curls," Grandmother said wistfully, tugging on a few disobedient locks. "You look so much like him. Our son. Your Tou-san."_

_Grandmother kissed my cheek again. "He was a good man, your father. I'm confident you will become a good person, too, Naa-chan."_

. . .

. .

.

Kakashi and I arrived at the academy roughly an hour too early. (he arrived earlier than I, but I was starting to have trouble getting out of bed. The issues with training at night was the significantly less time to sleep. Madara was teaching me how to preserve my energy throughout the day - a technique any good shinobi should learn - so I can get by with less sleep, but it would be a long ways before I could effectively use it) Kakashi already sat in the classroom, flipping through a book when I entered. Aki was at his desk, reviewing some paperwork. They both glanced up when I entered.

"Good, you're both here. Hatake-san, Senju-hime, I am pleased to inform you both have been moved to class 1-A, the fourth year's classroom," Aki said, standing up and handing us each some paperwork. "Have these filled out and signed and give them to the receptionist."

"Yes, Sensei," Kakashi and I chorused, bowing lowly.

Aki waved his hand dismissively. "You can transfer today if you like. I can walk you both to the classroom, if you need me to."

"We can find it on our own, thank you, though," Kakashi said swiftly.

Aki nodded his head. "I'm sure you can. I wish you both good luck in your endeavours, then."

Kakashi and I took our leave, exiting the classroom for the last time and heading straight to the receptionist's desks. Kakashi was holding his head up proudly, but I couldn't stop the normal flutter of nerves. I still didn't care too much for drawing so much attention to myself, but it was somehow less scary to be doing so with Kakashi. And I knew that Madara would be able to assist me, should anything unsavory occur.

"At this rate, we'll be the youngest graduates," Kakashi told me. "How old are you anyway?"

"Four. I'll be five in a couple months, though."

"Same. Only I'll be five in a month," Kakashi said. "What do you think the fourth year's class is like?"

I shrugged. "Bigger kids? Less people?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. " _Aside_ from that."

"Um... harder...? Oh. I met your sensei last night. He's dating my Nee-chan."

"Minato-sensei is dating Kushina-san?" Kakashi blinked. "... Huh. So what do you think of him?"

I shrugged again. "He's nice. I met him before too, with Jiraiya-sama. What does he train you in?"

"This and that. Tou-san's usually pretty busy, so Minato-sensei covers whatever Tou-san can't teach. Minato-sensei is the one who taught me how to water-walk. Hey, you should train with us some time."

"I don't know, he's _your_ sensei..."

"No, it's fine. This way I can have a better sparring partner and not have to lose _all the time_ against him. Besides, Kushina-san isn't training you, is she?"

I shook my head, and we stopped at the desk, grabbing some of the pens presented and starting to fill out the forms. "Not yet. She wants to train me in fuinjutsu and the Uzumaki techniques, but because she was on such a long vacation during the... " _during the aftermath of the new sealing of Kurama_ "... _thing_... she has to make up for it by doing more missions. She'll train me when she has time, but I doubt that'll be for a while. A year, at best."

"Then come and train with Minato-sensei and me," Kakashi ordered me. "We meet every other day at training grounds six, okay?"

"Er - um - okay - today or...?"  
"Today," Kakashi said firmly. "Just follow me after school, got it?"

"Yessir," I said, offering a mock salute.

Kakashi rolled his eyes and hit me on the shoulder. "Don't be stupid."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Alright class, we have two new students," Momo said. She was a young Chuunin with gray-brown hair and vibrant purple eyes and wore the standard Chuunin uniform. "Please welcome them."

Kakashi and I stood next to each other, surveying the small classroom. I counted a total of seventeen students, including Kakashi and myself. I didn't recognize any of them, except that two of them were Hyuuga, one was Uchiha, and... another was a Nara.

 _Graduate as early as you can,_ I could hear Madara's words echo inside my head.

Kakashi stepped forward, the perfect appearance of cool indifference. His black eyes scanned over all the students in a swift manner. "... Hatake Kakashi."

I stepped up next to him, dipping my head in greeting. "I'm Senju Naasica. Pleased to meet you."

"Go ahead and take your seats," Momo said, smiling warmly at us. "We'll go ahead and begin the lesson."

Momo turned back to the board while Kakashi and I took a seat up front, next to a Hyuuga. She began writing out _Substitution, Cloning, Transformation._ She turned back to face us, setting the chalk down when she finished. "This year, I'll be teaching you all the three basic ninjutsus all shinobi and kunoichi must possess before entering the Genin Corps. Yesterday, we only assessed how much you have all grown over the summer, and if you're still here today, it means you passed the necessary requirements. In the mornings we will be working physically, and afternoons, intellectually. Your schedule will be the following: from eight to nine-thirty, you will run seven laps around the track. Then you will stretch and work on your flexibility, afterwards you will be doing either upper-body strength or core-strength until the end of the hour. We will alternate every other day."

"From nine-thirty to ten we will work on taijutsu stances. From ten to eleven we will spar. From eleven to eleven-thirty, we will work on projectiles. From eleven-thirty to twelve-thirty is your recess. Use your time wisely. From twelve-thirty to one will be history. From one to one-thirty will be math. From one-thirty to two will be decoding, encoding, and infiltration techniques. From two to two-forty-five will be survival. From two-forty-five to three-thirty will be Ninjutsu practice. From three-thirty to four will be dependant on the day. Mondays and Wednesdays we will study the codes of shinobi and Konoha. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be specialized shinobi and kunoichi classes. Fridays will be tournament sparring for class rankings.

"Class is dismissed at four, and begins at eight sharp. If you're late more than once, you will be receiving a week's worth of detentions. Now, if no one has any questions, let's all traverse down to the tracks, mm?"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

When school finally ended, I was still giddy from holding onto my title as the fastest kunoichi in the class. Sure, I wasn't the strongest (that belonged to the Nara girl), or the smartest (one of the Hyuuga's, I believed), but I was the _fastest_. And that was... _fantastic._ It showed that Madara's training really _had_ paid off, and really _would_ pay off if I continued to follow his routine.

 _Then again, Madara_ did _turn a dead-last like Obito into_ Tobi _in just a couple years._

Another thrill ran through me as I thought what he could turn _me_ into.

"Naasica-chan? What are you doing here?"

I brought myself out of my thoughts, peering from behind Kakashi and wiggling my fingers in hello at Minato. "Kakashi-kun thought that, um, we should train together, um, under you..."

Minato's eyes brightened and his face morphed into a bright expression. "That's wonderful! I mean, if you want to, that is. This is great - I've only trained one student before, so this will really help when I can earn my own Genin Team."

"What are we doing today, Sensei?" Kakashi asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well, in celebration of you entering the academy, I thought it'd be your choice. What do you want me to show you? _Both_ of you?" Minato asked.

Kakashi glanced over at me. "... I'm not sure. Tou-san will teach me change in chakra nature, otherwise I'd choose that..."

_Madara will be teaching me change in manipulation, as well as how to wield the gunbai, sword, and scythe. Hmm..._

"I figured _you'd_ have trouble choosing, so I went ahead and got you _this_. I'm really sorry, Naasica-chan, but I didn't know you would be joining us, and I'm not sure what you would like..." Minato trailed off, looking embarrassed as he produced a scroll.

"A summoning contract?" I asked, vaguely recognizing it.

"Wait, _seriously_?" Kakashi asked, his eyes widening. "You got me...?"

"The ninken summon contract," Minto said, smiling easily. "I know how much you wanted it, and the previous owner is retiring and they didn't have anyone in mind to pass it down... What kind of contract would you like, Naasica-chan?"

I frowned. "Er... I'm not sure. Jiji didn't have a summoning contract, nor did Obaa-chan. I just figured I wouldn't have one either."

Minato's brow furrowed. "If that's what you want..."

_Besides, I can't really guarantee that whatever contract I sign on will be loyal to Madara-sama and myself when they discover the truth._

"A-Ah, it is. Actually, do you think you could help me with the clone? We haven't actually covered it, yet, but, um, I know it requires very precise chakra control and that's kind of hard for me," I said, the perfect picture of bashfulness.

"I would be delighted to," Minato said quickly. "Do you mind waiting a bit? I'd like to help Kakashi-kun get his contract set up."

I ducked my head, forcing up another blush. "That's fine. I need to work on my homework, anyway."

Minato gave me another smile and I moved away from Kakashi and him. I pulled my backpack off and set it on the ground, pulling out the numerous texts and scrolls that Madara had assigned me to read. I then pulled out several notebooks and a couple pens. I opened the first notebook, written entirely in English. At the top of the first notebook was _Strategic Maneuvers In Battle._ I flipped roughly half-way through the notebook, to the carefully labeled section of _Long-Term Battles._ A few more page flips and I reached a portion of neatly written notes and annotations. I then pulled one of the textbooks closer to me, opening it to page _394_ , and beginning to read.

As I read, I took careful notes, adding descriptions, sketches and defining some jargon. I had a couple dictionaries with me, as well as an encyclopedia. I made it through about six pages of notes before Minato finally tapped me lightly on my head.

I blinked, rubbing my head as I focused on Minato. "Sorry, what are you writing? I don't recognize that code."

I smiled at him. "I would hope not. You're not Senju."

An implied lie. Minato's eyes lit with understanding and he chuckled. "Ah, I see. Still, I'm surprised to see you writing in code."

"I like code," I defended, looking around Minato at Kakashi. "How do you like your contract?"

"They need work," Kakashi said, but there was a hint of pride in his voice. "Are you ready to begin training now, Naasica-hime?"

"Mm!"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I entered the empty apartment. Kushina was on a mission outside of Konoha and wouldn't return for another day. Which was fine by me. I was used to being alone, frankly. Besides, it meant I could go straight to bed, no questions asked, and not have to be so sneaky when I left to train with Madara.

All too gladly, I skimped over dinner (deciding to eat with Madara when I trained instead) and went straight to bed to catch a few hours of sleep before the hellish routine began again.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"You don't need to learn the academy's clones. Your wooden clones will suffice," Madara told me. I pulled myself out of the water, my swimsuit scraping against the jagged rocks. I sat on the shore. My legs were still in the water and I reached for the towel and started patting my hair dry. "They only want you to be able to make some form of clone. After our gunbai lesson we will begin working on your wooden clones."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

I grabbed my kunai pouch, pulling out a kunai and preparing to throw at the targets Zetsu had set up around the pound. If I missed the targets, or didn't add enough force for the kunai to stay embedded in the targets, they would fall into the pond and I would be forced to swim in the dark waters to retrieve them. This was to _also_ help with my swimming.

"Also... I have been giving some thought to the Edo-Tensei," Madara said. His eyes glowed in the dark with unhidden mirth. "Undoubtedly there will be changes in our plans, things we did not anticipate. I trusted in Obito to stick to the plan, and for the most part he did, but... perhaps that's not what should happen this time. Perhaps the plan should adjust to the events."

Not stopping my practice, I threw another kunai at the target, being sure to take my time to ensure that it would hit where I wanted it to hit. Speed would come with practice. "What do you mean, Madara-sama? Do you wish to think of back-up plans for the new Tobi and myself to follow?"

"No, I want to be able to formulate the next actions," Madara said silkily. "However, I cannot remain in this body for too long. I need to be able to move, too. You will learn Edo-Tensei."

I faltered, my kunai slipping out of my hand.

"But... I don't... I don't even know where to start," I said weakly, bewildered.

"Not just Orochimaru's version, but Kabuto's version - the improved upon one. I will, of course, make my own adjustments to it for our benefit. I will learn the technique, as well."

"But... but how?" I asked, gesturing wildly. "You can't... you can't _seriously_ be suggesting that I... that I ally myself with Kabuto and Orochimaru, can you?"

"Don't be absurd," Madara sneered. "They are beneath us. But you saw Kabuto's new technique when he showed it to Tobi, didn't you?"

"That was _years_ ago," I blurted out. "And it was in a foreign language! I don't even know fuinjutsu."

Madara waved his hands. "But the memory is still there. You just need to dredge it up."  
"How?" I demanded dubiously.

Madara smiled at me. "I'll take care of it. Just be prepared to... open your mind... when the time is right."

And he turned away, effectively ending the conversation. Unable to do anything else, I docilely whispered, "Yes, Madara-sama."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"You look dead," Kakashi told me bluntly a couple days later.

I shot him a withering glare, hanging upside down from a tree branch. I pulled myself up, completing another sit-up. "I... I just haven't been getting a lot of sleep, okay? I do not look _dead_."

"You _definitely_ look dead," Kakashi said firmly. "... Maybe you should skip practice today and just head home and sleep."

"I can't," I muttered, irritated. "I have to train. Besides, Minato's watching over me tonight because Nee-chan is out of the village."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Then sleep at the training grounds - you _seriously_ need it."

I huffed, but a yawn escaped me. "... Shuddup."

Kakashi seemed to smirk at me, but I couldn't be sure because of his mask.

"Ah, Naasica-hime, you look dead."

Groaning in annoyance, I shot Minato a glare, who only grinned back in return. My glare faltered, though, as his smile was contagious.

"Maybe you _should_ just take a nap," Minato advised. "I don't want you falling asleep during dinner."

"I'm _fine_ ," I insisted, but my argument seemed invalid due to the fact that I yawned at that moment. I flushed under Minato and Kakashi's smug looks, and dropped down to the ground. "Fine! I'll take a stupid nap."

Still muttering crossly under my breath, I laid back on the grass and closed my eyes.

I was ashamed to confess that I fell asleep within seconds.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

_Looks like I'm not the only one who's tired,_ I thought, staring at the sleeping Madara. He was sitting back in his throne. (I gave up calling it a chair a _long_ time ago) Despite being asleep, his face looked no less tired or weary.

_He's been through a lot. What was it like, I wonder, to sit here all alone for decades upon decades... lost in despair? He must have a strong will to survive something like that, and stronger still to continue to look to the future._

I glanced around the cave. _It's not exactly a comfortable place, either. In the anime... manga... whatever... in_ canon _there wasn't a way to enter or exit this place. Obito only entered the cave because his Sharingan allowed him to slip through. However, there's a clear exit and entrance to this cave_ now _, so I wonder what will happen to close that off? Did Madara do something, or did someone else find the cave?_

_Someone... not good?_

_What if I come here one night and I can't get in?_

The thought made me anxious. My eyes rested on Madara, and I shifted my weight to the balls of my feet. I watched him sleep for a handful of minutes, my anxiety slowly dying down as I did so. Once I was completely relaxed again, I let out a soft sigh.

... _I know for a fact that throne isn't the most comfiest places to sleep on,_ I thought. _The compound has so many empty bedrooms. I doubt anyone would notice_

Making up my mind, I turned on my heel and left.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

When Madara had awoken, I had finished dragging in the last mattress.

His eyes opened slowly, peering at me through the darkness. When I set the mattress down, he finally asked, "What are you doing?"

I gestured to the many blankets, pillows and two mattresses. "... I thought you might like these."

"I can see that. I meant the tree."

I looked over at the tree that I had created. It was different than Hashirama's trees. The bark was warped and twisted, and the branches curled and tucked underneath one another. The leaves weren't even a pretty shade of green, but instead a dull amber orange.

"... In the canon story," I mumbled, shifting sheepishly under Madara's sharp gaze, "there is no entrance or exit by the time Obito shows up. I just thought it would be good to have some way to directly enter and leave the cave... should anything unsavory occur."

Madara eyed me another moment, before he glanced over at the blankets. "I take it your teleportation has gotten better, you were able to bring so many items."

 _I actually had three times as many things, but the rest got shredded to bits in the process,_ I thought.

Madara slowly stood up from his throne. "... How much time do you have left to train?"

"Half an hour, tops."

"I see," Madara said slowly. "Then let's not bother for tonight. Naasica, tell me what is going on outside of our lessons."

As I explained what had transpired, I dragged a mattress over to his throne. I threw it over the seat, grabbing several blankets and placing them over it. I added some pillows, as well, and hung a thick blanket over one of my tree's branches - the tree had grown around and above his throne.

I dragged the other mattress in the far back, creating a makeshift bed with the rest of the things I had brought. By the time I had finished doing all of this, I had also finished retelling Madara of what was going on.

"Does Kushina intend to show you fuinjutsu?"

"I don't know, but I believe so. I _know_ she intends to teach me how to utilize Uzumaki techniques - the chains, for example."

"I see."

Madara sat back down in his throne, sinking into the soft mattress and blankets. He rested his scythe at his side and I hesitated a heartbeat before I moved across the cave. I sat next to him on the large throne, being sure to sit on the tube-free side.

"Madara-sama?"

Madara turned his head towards me.

"What would you do if someone _did_ find us... find _you_?"

"I would kill them."

There was no hesitation in his voice. No reprehension. No distaste. Nothing. It was completely apathetic - as if it was a socially acceptable answer. In this world, I suppose it was. Yet I couldn't help, but feel...

Nothing.

I didn't feel any distaste for his response, for his choice. There was nothing. Just cool acceptance. It made sense. He had no reason to allow anyone who saw him now to live - he had me, his tool, and if anyone else _did_ see him they would only get in his way. Or worse, _talk_. They would be a liability, so they would have to be cut loose. It was nothing personal - it just was.

However, my apathy surprised me. We had already briefly gone over killing someone in the academy. Kushina even tentatively broached the subject with me. She assumed I already _had_ my first kill. After all, I had been kidnapped by such naughty, naughty people and yet I somehow escaped relatively unscathed. I must have used force - how else could I have survived in the forest, anyway?

I hadn't.

I had killed some animals, that was true. But that was for meat. Surely taking a _human_ life would be different.

Right?

It would be wrong if it _wasn't_ different, right?

Or was it?

Did it make me a good kunoichi to not notice a difference... and in the process more human?

Or did it just mean I was above such things? That I could logically think through the action and detach myself emotionally?

I didn't know.

A yawn escaped me and I rubbed at my eyes.

"... Are you expected tomorrow morning?"

I shook my head. "Kushina won't be back until late afternoon and I have no school tomorrow. Minato will check on me about noon-ish, though, when I go to train with Kakashi."

Madara stared at me for several seconds. "You are tired. Go and sleep."

I frowned.

"If you want," Madara said slowly, "you may sleep here. If you are too tired to go back to bed."

We stared at each other for a solid minute, neither speaking.

I wasn't too tired to go back to my own bed. Yet... yet I didn't really want to. There was something comforting about this place - the darkness that had once suffocated me here was consoling. It was almost like a cocoon, swaddling me. And there was something comforting about _him_ ; about this mass-murderer and declared psychopath.

 _I wonder what that means for me?_ I mused.

I did not voice this, of course. I was uncertain how Madara would react if I told him that I found strength in his presence. So instead, I gave another yawn and stretched back on the large throne. The wooden seat was wider than my bed back at the compound, and longer too.

My eyes fluttered closed and I curled up.

"Good night," I said softly.

"Good night," Madara said.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Another week went by.

I slammed into Kakashi, my right shoulder digging into his diaphragm. Kakashi gave a cough, and the two of us crashed into the ground, rolling part of the ways. Kakashi's hand darted out and grabbed at my hair, but I had my knee in between his legs and dug in.

"FUCK!"

"Language," Minato said sharply.

Kakashi tapped the ground beside him and I rolled off him, panting heavily. I wiped at my nose, having trouble breathing through it. When another sharp pain rang through my nose when I tried to again, I gave up and started breathing through my mouth. "Yew ruin' my noh-ze."

Kakashi glowered at me. When he spoke, his voice was a couple pitches higher than normal. "You knee'd me!"

"Something that _will_ happen on the battlefield. Kakashi-kun, did you forget your cup again?" Minato asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kakashi flushed and stubbornly looked away.

"Fell' li'e i'," I said, clutching at my still bleeding nose.

Minato squatted down next to me. "You got her square in the nose, Kakashi-kun. Very nice hit - we'll actually have to go to the hospital for this one."

"Ni'e," I said, holding out my hand to Kakashi. Kakashi beamed at me and high-fived me.

Minato's arms wrapped around me and he picked me up in a smooth motion. I gave a surprised giggle, because Minato then disappeared in a flash of yellow - taking me with him. Kakashi would be following behind us shortly, I was certain.

Minato's transportation felt far more different than my own. Mine felt disordered, heavy and chaotic, while his was smooth and light. It was immensely more enjoyable of an experience and I absolutely loved it when he teleported with me. Minato appeared in the waiting room, still cradling me in his arms, and approached the receptionist. She took one look at us - recognizing me instantly, due to rather frequent visits to the hospital after training practice - and waved us on.

When it was all said and done, I only had a bandage over my newly-mended nose to say for the whole affair.

Kakashi waited for us outside the hospital, his right arm still bruised from my timely kick earlier on in the spar.

"What are we going to do now, Sensei?" Kakashi asked.

Minato gave a hum. "I want you both to show me your clones, and then I'll call it a day. It's already late and I know Sakumo-san and Kushina-chan will have dinner ready for you two by now."

I clapped my hands together. "Mokuton: Bunshin no jutsu!"

Wood grew out of me, forming and taking shape, before changing color. When the process was finished, another me stood side by side. Minato nodded in acceptance and I allowed the clone to dispel. Kakashi clapped his own hands together and in a puff of smoke, a clone stood next to him.

"Acceptable," Minato declared. "We'll work on henges next time. Have a nice night, you two."

Kakashi and I both bowed in farewell.

"Are you eating with us again tonight, Minato-sensei?" I asked, straightening up. Minato shook his head, giving me a smile and ruffling my hair.

"Not tonight," Minato said. "I'm heading in your direction though, Kakashi-kun, so I'll walk you home."

"Hai, Sensei."

"Ja ne, then," I said.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Who is this?" I asked, my eyes locked onto an elderly man with light-blond hair. He squinted at me, before smiling brightly. Madara circled around him slowly, finally coming to a stop on the man's left.

Madara awarded me with a thin, cold smile. "His name is Yamanaka Inotaku. He has a weak body and is senile. He's been known to wander off and not be found for days at a time and his death has been expected for several months now. He is currently under my genjutsu and believes that you are his grandson, Inoichi."

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out.

"Ask him how to find your memories. Ask him to teach you the technique," Madara murmured.

Moving closer to the older man, I whispered, "I thought the Yamanaka techniques were kekkai genkais."

"Some are. Most of them are just hidden techniques - which means they are guarded zealously. Almost as bad as the Hyuuga are with their pathetic eyes," Madara snickered quietly.

Not bothering to argue against Madara, or question _how the hell he got the old man_ , I approached Inotaku and rested a hand on his knees. He was sitting Madara's throne.

"Jiji," Madara whispered to me.

"Jiji," I echoed.

"Would you please - "

"Would you please - "

" - show me a new technique?"

" - show me a new technique?"

"I've been trying to remember something - "

"I've been trying to remember something - "

" - something important, but I can't. Please, Jiji?"

" - something important, but I can't. Please, Jiji?"

Inotaku gave me a toothless smile. "Anything for my favorite Yamanaka. Come here. Watch closely, now."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I let out a slow breath, my legs crossed neatly and curled up against me as I moved and steadied my breath. The technique required no handseals, but that didn't make it much easier. Madara stood behind me, watching me. I ignored him, focusing on my heartbeat. A minute passed before I slipped off into a meditative state, like I had many times before in practicing my wood-style.

My mind felt disconnected with my body, but I could still feel the chakra thrumming along me. Instead of focusing and guiding to my hands, though, I focused it to my head. I could feel it move slowly, sluggishly, towards its destination. It left goosebumps trailing along my skin in its wake. When I felt it enter, I could feel a rush of pleasant warmth wash over me, leaving me feeling tingly and lethargic.

I then started to focus on the memory.

The chakra, it seemed, would act as a better focus, and I had to agree. All my memories seemed magnified somehow. It was the same concept as enhanced strength and speed. When I found the memory that I wanted, blurred and hard to read, I willed my chakra to focus on it.

Slowly, it started to become more clear.

My fingers twitched and Madara placed a brushed in them. My face screwed up as I tried to keep the picture in my head. Slowly, I started to draw what I saw in my mind. A migraine started to form, one of consequences of channeling chakra into your mind for so long, but I was able to ignore it.

For what seemed like an eternity, I drew.

And finally, I was done.

I gasped at the sharp pain that stabbed through my head when I finally released the technique.

Madara was laughing quietly. It was a strained laugh. A laugh that seemed, somehow, _wrong_.

"Satisfactory work, woman," Madara whispered quietly. "I will examine this while you are away and learn it. When you are ready, I will teach it to you. Now... take care of Inotaku. Zetsu will dispose of the body."

I stilled, my breath caught in my throat.

This was it.

The first kill.

I stood up, my body somehow feeling detached from my conscious.

_It doesn't matter. He'll live in the Genjutsu._

Then why did I feel so sick?

My foot moved robotically as I approached up, picking up a discarded kunai along the way. He was smiling at me, staring off into the distance, still captured in a blissful Genjutsu.

_Let him die happy._

I was shaking, shudders racking through my body.

"Naasica?"

Madara's voice tore my attention away. He was standing aways from me, his eyes dancing with dark amusement. When he spoke, his tone was condescending. "Do you need me to do it?"  
"No, Madara-sama," I insisted immediately.

I had to do it eventually. There was no way around it. For the betterment of this world, and for my own survival.

It was killed or be killed.

I placed the sharp edge of the kunai against Inotaku's throat, pressing down on the artery. I wanted to close my eyes. I wanted to back down and tell Madara to do it for me, but I couldn't. I had already come so far, and I couldn't afford to back down now. There would be other people I would have to eliminate. Enemies. More than likely, a few innocent would have to go, too.

Logically, I should have no reason to object to doing this. All my mistakes would be amended when I saved _so many_ lives with the Genjutsu. If a few had to go in the process, that was a sacrifice I had to be willing to make.

So I forced my eyes to remain open, and I forced my hand to slice across in a quick motion before I had anymore second guesses.

Breathing heavily, I backed away slowly and watched as he slumped over. He gurgled and gasped, clutching at his throat, blood continuing to pool out. His eyes rolled back as he coughed.

It was a long death.

And when the light finally left him, I found myself numb.

There was no regret.

There was no guilt.

There was no sense of wrongness.

There was acceptance.

There was honor.

And there was a sense of _rightness_.

After all... I was doing this for _everyone_. For Mito... Kakashi... Kushina... Minato... this was for _their_ benefit. How could I resent such a task... when in the end it would make them _happy_?

I giggled.


	6. Sanctuary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **_"Some men just want to watch the world burn."_ **
> 
> **_-Alfred_ **

" _Check," Grandmother said, smiling coyly. I huffed at her, my cheeks puffing out and turning red in embarrassment. Grandmother giggled, her long wrinkly fingers stretching out and patting my cheek affectionately._

 _I looked back down at the board, my bottom lip sticking out as I fumed in thoughtful silence. It was annoying that she had managed to corner me so easily. I had played chess frequently in my past life, and rarely lost. Shogi wasn't_ so _different from chess - it was just another form of chess with slightly changed rules._

_When an idea came to me, I moved my pieces accordingly._

_Several minutes of silence passed by before I could triumphantly smirk. I moved my final piece into place and smirked at her. "Checkmate."_

_Grandmother gave a quiet gasp before she giggled again. "I see. Good job, Naa-chan."_

_I beamed._

. . .

. .

.

"I'll have more free time now," Kushina said, sitting down next to me on the couch. We had just finished dinner and were now preparing to watch a movie together and eat desert. "I'll be able to help you with your training."

"Really?" I asked, glancing at her.

Kushina's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Aa!"

At her bright smile and warm eyes, I felt a pang in my chest and for an instant she wasn't Kushina. _Grandmother...?_

I blinked and the illusion was gone. I forced a smile on my face. "Please take care of me."

Kushina wrapped an arm around me and brought me closer to her. She kissed the top of my head. "Same to you, little sapling."

My hands curled into fists.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Happy birthday," I said, smiling brightly. Kakashi glanced up at me and his eyes widened when I set a neatly wrapped box on his desk. He carefully took the box in his hands.

"Thanks," Kakashi said. With ease, he undid the bow and the wrapping. He opened the box and peered inside. "This is..."

Kakashi pulled out the tanto, his eyes wide. He held it in his hands, weighing and balancing it. "This is a _high_ quality tanto. This must have cost you a fortune..."

_Didn't even put a dent into it, actually._

I shrugged, sitting down next to him. "You're my first friend, Kakashi-kun. I just wanted to get you something that could be of use to you."

Kakashi shifted in his seat, still staring at the tanto.

"I remember you said that Sakumo-san used a tanto, and I know how much you want to be like him," I said slyly.

Kakashi just shrugged, running a finger along the sharp edge. "... Thank you."

I smiled at him. "Mn."

"Class, it's time to begin."

"Hai, Sensei!"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I caught the fist in my right hand, gripping it tightly and allowing the momentum of her punch to continue forward. I twisted with the punch, allowing her to come closer to me and then I snapped out my left hand and nailed her square in the jaw. She rolled with the punch, and the force of the blow was enough that I had to release my hold on her fist.

Uchiha Aya fell back on the mat, landing on her back. She gave a cough as the air was knocked out of her lunges and she struggled to catch her breath. However, before she could get back up, I was on her in an instant. I sat on her, prepared to dig my elbow in her throat.

"Enough," Momo said sharply. "Winner is Senju Naasica."

I got off Aya and stood up. Remembering my manners, I held out my hand to her. She glared at my hand for a moment before she reluctantly took it. Morphing her expression back into cool indifference, she extended her index and middle finger and hooked it around my own.

"Thank you for the spar," we said together.

Momo gave us an approving look. "Good. In another month, I'll allow Ninjutsu and Genjutsu to be used in the spars, but so far you both are doing quite well with just Taijutsu. You all are, actually. Excellent work, ladies."

The girls exchanged excited glances, while I continued to look after Momo.

"There will be special kunoichi classes available for you to attend after school. If any of you are interested in signing up, please talk to me after class. Now let's go check on the boys, hmm?"  
On Fridays the upperclassmen took part in a tournament style spar day. We fought with one another to receive class rankings, but the tournaments were gender specific. There was one other class of upperclassmen that consisted of fifteen students and on Fridays, the two classes would merge and split off, dependant on genders. For the moment, I held the highest ranking and I was dead-set on _never_ letting it go. Aya, the Uchiha girl, was dead-set on taking that rank from me.

_Hmph. If I lost the title to some stuck-up, Madara would never let me live it down. I'd hate to think what kind of punishment he would concoct..._

I shuddered, a trickle of fear curling inside my stomach.

We reached the end of the last match of the boys when we arrived. It was just in time to see Kakashi meticulously take down an older, unimportant boy. The girls squealed and cooed, while my eyes narrowed. Kakashi was panting heavily when the instructor called the match.

Momo beamed at all the students. "Now that that's done, my class, with me."

The group of girls broke apart, along with the guys. Kakashi came to my side and I pulled out a handkerchief, wordlessly handing it to him. He took it, and wiped the sweat off his brow, bunching it in his hands and not giving it back. I knew he would take it home, wash it, and return it to me tomorrow. Kakashi bumped his shoulder into mine, and I gave him a faintly amused look. His eyes danced with teasing mockery.

"Did you win?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course I did," I said. I could feel two eyes burning into the back of my head, and I deigned to look back at the Uchiha girl who was glowering at me with absolute loathing. A smile curled its way on my lips for a brief moment before I turned my back to her and ignored her. She was unimportant. She would die, anyway, so I had no reason to bother myself with her. So long as she continued to lose to me, she was insignificant.

Kakashi nodded at this, and we walked back to class together.

As we walked, though, Kakashi leaned a bit closer to me to whisper, "Are you sleeping okay?"

"Just stayed up a bit too late studying," I lied with ease.

Kakashi pulled back, looking mildly concerned, but didn't press for more.

Time passed on and soon enough, we were dismissed for the day. As per usual, Kakashi and I left together and went to our usual training grounds where Minato met us. Minato gave us a boyish smile.

"How was school?" Minato asked.

"Boring," we said in perfect synch. We glanced at each other, sharing looks of knowing amusement.

Kakashi shrugged. "I think I might just take the graduation test in the winter. I know enough to graduate - and afterwards, you'd become my full-time sensei, wouldn't you?"

Minato gave a slow nod. "That's true. Because you graduated without the rest of your classmates, you would be put into an individual squad, and I'm certain the Hokage would allow me to lead that squad. What about you, Naasica-hime?"

"I'll take the test and try my best," I said, then resisted the urge to yawn. Minato gave me a grin.

"I'm not surprised. I bet I could get you _both_ under my team."

"That would be awesome!" I exclaimed, forcing a big smile on my face. Kakashi nodded his head in agreement.

Kakashi turned to Minato. "Sensei, what are we doing today?"

Minato gave a thoughtful hum. "In order to graduate, you need to have mastered transformation, clones, and substitution. You both have your transformation and clones down, but you could both use some work on the substitution. Today, let's work on that."

"Hai!"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Welcome home."

I looked up at Kushina, smiling warmly at her. "It's good to be back. Kakashi and I are going to take the exams in the winter - we're hoping to graduate."

Kushina blinked in surprise at that, but gave a nod. "Okay, I'll do what I can to support you! Although, I have to confess, you're graduating far earlier than what I had planned... Hmm. Tell you what, tonight, let's start fūinjutsu. When you graduate, I'll begin teaching you about your heritage, along with the accompanying moves."

"Really? Tonight?"  
"Why not?" Kushina asked, shrugging. "I can give you the run down tonight, pick up the supplies tomorrow and we can really get into it then. I've noticed how you really like to take notes, so why don't you grab a notebook and pen?"  
Not needing any more prompting, I hurried away and grabbed the materials. When I returned, Kushina had sat down at the kitchen table, and motioned for me to sit across from her. I sat down and pulled the notebook out, preparing for notes. Kushina giggled at my actions, and leaned across the table.

"The Uzumaki Clan were renowned specialists in fūinjutsu; it's in our genes. My mother often described it as an innate understanding - and when we move to the hands-on material, you'll understand. There aren't many notes you can take, as it's mostly just instinct and common sense. I can tell you a few things, though, that I had to learn the hard way. One: the seal becomes unstable when you place an odd-numbered seal on top of an even numbered seal and vice-versa. Two: the bigger the seal, the more important the shape becomes. For smaller seals (fire-tags, storage scrolls), the shape and design of the seal doesn't influence the purpose very much. However, for larger seals (an example being summoning contracts), the shape of the seal and symmetry effects how effective the seal works."

"Why?" I asked.

Kushina considered the question. "... Because it's all about balance. For each seal, you need a perfect balance of everything. The perfect amount of ink. The perfect amount of chakra. The perfect amount of anchor. _Everything_ has to balance each other out exactly. The more symmetric the seal, the better balanced. Using a more symmetric shape - such as a circle or square - creates a more stable balance. Sometimes, though, the seal will be too big or too complex to make such a shape and you have to improvise. I've made a convoluted summoning seal that had eight triangles sticking out of a circle, simply because I needed the room."

I frowned at that, recalling some of the seals I had seen before, while writing down what Kushina had said. "... Is there a way to _compress_ the seal? Like make it smaller?"  
Kushina gave me a cocky grin. "Well, _yeah_ , but that's pretty advanced stuff. We'll get it later. Okay, lastly, number three: _don't ever use your blood as ink_."

I blinked. "What?"

"It _ruins_ everything," Kushina said seriously. "Because blood is so unbalanced. Just, trust me on this. Don't ever try it unless it's an absolute emergency and you're _trying_ to make an explosion. An uncontrolled, erratic, stupidly big explosion."

"... Okay."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I laid in my bed, staring up at the ceiling. My body was tired, dead tired, from Madara's training routine. An occasional shudder wracked through me, but my mind was running a thousand miles per minute. I wasn't able to close my eyes, because whenever I did, I shuddered violently.

This was the third night consecutively I would be unable to catch even a hint of sleep.

I rubbed my eyes tiredly, turning restlessly over in my bed and staring out the window.

 _Don't close your eyes,_ an eerily familiar voice whispered to me. _You can't trust them. You can't let your guard down._

I buried my head under the pillow.

 _You're just tired,_ I told myself. _Sleep deprived._

Even if I told myself that, the fit of paranoia would not leave me.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The following morning, I stared at myself in the mirror. The dark bags under my eyes were stark against my fine, pale skin. My eyes trailed down to the drawer, before I opened it and pulled out various make-up that Kushina kept around. She didn't use them often, so she wouldn't notice if someone else used them.

With a practiced hand, I began to dab the makeup over the bags. Within minutes, the bags were virtually gone.

I stared at myself in the mirror, squinting at the reflection.

_How much longer do I have to wear this mask?_

I took a couple more moments to stare at my reflection - silently marveling at how well this cover-up had concealed the bags, far better than any other make-up in my past life. It seemed to be made of different materials, as well - perhaps the chakra that thrived in this world affected the basic minerals? Or maybe it was just a different process. I would imagine that kunoichi and shinobi had to be able to effectively disguise themselves without chakra, so the demand for well-working tools that required no chakra was probably high.

At least higher than my past life's world.

When I was done with my muses, I left the bathroom and headed out into the kitchen. Kushina had left earlier than I did, so I merely grabbed some rice balls and headed out the door.

At a lackadaisical pace, I traversed down the relatively empty street. It was still early in the morning, so very few people were out and about. I walked for a handful of minutes before Kakashi met up with me, walking beside me.

"Morning," I greeted.

Kakashi peered at me, then gave me something of a smile that still resembled a smirk through his mask. "You look better. Get lots of sleep?"  
A chill ran down my spine and fit of anxiety slammed hard into me, leaving my hands clenching and relaxing as I fought not to show my emotions. "Almost too much, actually. Is it really that noticeable?"  
Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets, turning away from me and continuing the walk down to the academy. "Yeah. You look better."

 _You can't trust them,_ I heard the voice from last night whisper. _They know you're lying. You're going to die again._

I forced my hands to relax as I caught up with him and bumped my shoulder with his. He glanced at me, his eyes gleaming with bemusement. "What? Did I not look good before?"  
He abruptly looked away from me, sticking his nose up in the air. "No. You looked like a walking corpse."

"Ouch," I whined, feigning hurt. As we continued to walk down the street, my anxiety slowly died away.

But I couldn't shake that paranoid feeling.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

My days and nights started to blur together. I seemed to be moving through them in an almost absent-minded way. Out of habit, I continued to smile and giggle. I teased, played and trained throughout the day, and at night, I laid in my bed... just waiting for the next session.

If my behavior was strange, no one noticed. I continued wearing the cover-up, and no one doubted my sleeping habits again. If anything, they thought I was _improving_ \- that I was... _happier_.

At least all... but one.

"Stop."

I stumbled to a stop in my running, my barefeet digging into the cold ground. Panting heavily, I turned my head in the direction of Madara's voice.

"How much sleep have you been getting?"

Caught off guard by his question, I could only stare blankly at him in response for several seconds. When my brain finally caught up to what he was asking, I mumbled out an answer. He approached me slowly, and I could see his eyes narrow at my response.

"Liar," Madara accused. "You can barely stand and the bags under your eyes convey many nights without _any_ sleep."

I froze. Was it really that obvious? Kakashi and Kushina stopped pestering me about my sleep, and Minato seemed more relaxed. If they hadn't noticed it - how had Madara? Why did Madara see through me, when those that called me their friend, did not?

"You cannot hide anything from me," Madara whispered, standing directly in front of me. He reached out a pale hand and cupped my cheek, examining me with narrowed eyes. "While your skin can lie, your eyes cannot. Answer my question, Naasica. How many nights have you gone without sleep?"

"Several," I finally admitted.

"Why?" Madara demanded. "Sleep is essential. You are only hurting yourself and our plans by doing this."

"I can't sleep," I bit out. "That room - that place - it's suffocating."

It was true. How many nights now had I just laid in my bed, staring up at the ceiling; unable to close my eyes for fear of my mask being broken? I was supposed to be a child - a happy, sweet, shy girl who anyone could trust and turn to. I worked hard for my mask, and at night I heard whispers telling me that if I let my guard down for an instant, I would be found out. Sleeping was the ultimate form of relaxing my guard.

I was in enemy territory there. I could not sleep like that.

Madara seemed to be glaring at me. "You _idiot_. By feeding your delusions, your paranoia has only grown. You will not attend these training sessions until you are caught up."  
"No, please," I blurted out, fear taking my heart. The very thought of not being able to stay here, of having to wear that mask _all the time_ was too much. I didn't want to leave this place, truth be told. I wanted to remain here, in this odd hell hole, for as long as I could. I wanted to be in his presence, because somehow I felt stronger, more sure of myself by doing so. I wanted to stay in this darkness, hidden from the world.

This dark place was my heaven in this hell.

"Please," I whispered, shrinking under his sharp look. I squirmed, uncertain of how to convey how desperately I needed him to let me stay. How dearly I wanted him to say it was _okay_ to continue on like I had been.

His hand fell away from me, and a calculating look came into his eyes. Then, as if realizing something, it was gone and replaced with a more thoughtful expression. "... You like it here."

I nodded my head, a sudden anxiousness gripping my heart and causing me to tense.

"... Your clones are very good," Madara suddenly said.

I looked up at him with wide eyes, teetering subtly.

"... When you are about to go to bed, you will make a clone and you will come here. We will train - but we will shorten our training time significantly... and then you will sleep here for the rest of the night. If you do not sleep, _I will knock you out_. We will do this until you are caught up and capable of sleeping in your own bed again," Madara said.

I froze, my breath caught. Then all at once, I sagged, a rush of relief pressing hard on me. I was shaking with relief and my eyes started to sting for some odd reason. Madara snorted at me and turned away. "... We are done with this lesson for tonight. Come here, Naasica. Sleep."

"Y-Yes, Madara-sama," I whispered, my voice watery.

It was the first night of peaceful sleep I had gotten in a long, long time.


	7. Loyalty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _  
> **"Some men just want to watch the world burn."**  
>  _
> 
> _  
> **-Alfred**  
>  _

_"What happened to Batman?" Tsunade asked. She squatted down in front of me, her warm brown eyes colored with concern._

_I just shook my head, looking mournfully down at my bat. He was ripped open, stuffing coming out and his left eye was missing. Tsunade made a tsking sound as she gently lifted the creature from my hands. "Don't worry, little sapling, I'll have him fixed up in no time. One of the perks about being a medic is being an awfully good sewer."_

_I smiled shyly at her. Then, hesitantly, I reached forward and kissed her cheek. "I love you, Nee-chan."_

_Tsunade's eyes widened, and she blushed. She smiled back at me, and then kissed the top of my head. "I love you, too, Imouto."_

. . .

. .

.

After school, I told Kakashi I had to head home early for some private training with Kushina. So Kakashi and I told each other we would see each other tomorrow, and we went our separate ways. Kushina would be out on a week-long mission starting tomorrow, so she wanted to teach more about fūinjutsu and give me some practice materials before she left.

Hopping across the rooftops, when I neared home, I was stopped by an ANBU kunoichi.

She appeared in front of me, kneeling down. Her voice came out distorted through her mask and she spoke in a monotone voice. "Danzō-sama requests your audience tomorrow night."

My eyes narrowed minutely. Before I could give her a response, she vanished.

" _Madara will want to hear about this,"_ I thought, feeling a chill settle in the pit of my stomach.

It had been a little over a month since I had started sleeping there. Kushina never noticed my absence, for which I was thankful for. I was also starting to feel better - stronger. It was a good thing Madara had caught me before the sleep deprivation left more permanent marks on my psyche. I was lucky that the damage was repairable, and even more so that Madara did not seem overly bothered by my foolish mistake. It was already rather shameful that I had been so poor of mind, I actually _believed_ what I was doing was okay.

Kakashi and I had continued our training under Minato without any hindrance under that month. We both felt ready for the academy exam, as did Minato and Kushina.

I lingered a moment or two longer than necessary on the rooftop, uncertain of where this new development would take me.

I knew that the Hokage had been putting together a training regime for me to develop my Wood-Style. I figured he would not offer the regime for me until _after_ I had graduated, but perhaps he had simply entrusted such to Danzō? In this time period, Sarutobi trusted Danzō.

The thought of Danzō supervising my training was a... discomforting one. He was a paranoid, power-hungry man. If I trained for a long period of time under him... he would undoubtedly know something was off about me. My cover would be in danger.

Besides, I didn't need training in the Wood-Style. Madara would teach me everything I needed to know, and then some.

So, I ignored the unsettled feeling I had in my gut, and I continued my journey to home.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

"I see," was all Madara said when I informed him of the development.

I was done training with him that night, and I was dressed out in my pajamas. A blanket was wrapped around the both of us, as the cave had gotten chillier seeing how winter approached. I was curled up at his side, my knees pulled up to me so my chin rested on top of them.

"What would you like me to do, Madara-sama?"

Madara did not look me, but rather, his eyes remained locked on the orange-leafed tree that wrapped around his throne. "Danzō is an issue that will be resolved at a later date. We cannot interfere with him too much, as you are not strong enough - politically nor physically - to dance with him. It would be best to limit your contact with him as much as possible. With that in mind, it would appear strange if you did not accept his invitation."

"I believe he will want to train me."

At that, Madara's eyes narrowed a fraction. "Most likely. You will need to decline his offer."

"Very well," I said.

"Be polite about it, though, but be firm," Madara went on. "It would be best not to make enemies of him, but I do not want you near him any more than necessary. Before you leave tomorrow morning, take a portion of Zetsu with you. It's time I added my own supervision to him."

 _That's right,_ I thought, _Zetsu's spore abilities allow Madara to track whomsoever they are attached to, as well as record whatever they 'see'. Although, I am uncertain to how that ability will work while they are still in their spore form. No matter..._

"Yes, Madara-sama," I said.

"Kushina will be gone tomorrow for a week, yes?"

"Yes."

"Then you may stay here for the week if you choose," Madara responded. "We need to make sure you catch up on your lost sleep. When is the graduation exam?"

"Within the month, Madara-sama."

"Good."

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

"You know you can always talk to Minato if you need anything," Kushina said, bending down and kissing my cheek. "It's just a week. I'll be back before you know it, dattebane!"

I kissed her cheek in return, smiling. "I'll be okay, Nee-chan. Do you have everything?"

Kushina straightened up, strands of her fiery hair coming loose from her ponytail. She gave me a grin, her eyes sparkling. With one hand, she patted a singular scroll strapped to her waist. "Don't be silly, of course I have everything. Now you be good while I'm gone."

"I will."

"I know," Kushina replied, turning and opening the front door. "Oh! Good morning, Kakashi-kun."

I blinked in surprise, hurrying over to Kushina's side and peering from behind her to find Kakashi at our front door. His hands were shoved in his pocket and he looked up at Kushina.

"Good morning, Kushina-san. Are you going on a mission?"

Kushina nodded her head. "Mn. I'm leaving now, actually. Take care of my Naa-chan, okay?"

"Okay," Kakashi agreed, causing Kushina to beam and give me a wink before she left. I raised an incredulous eyebrow at Kakashi.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No. I was just wondering if you wanted to skip school today."

Both of my eyebrows shot up as I stared at Kakashi in surprise. I had never expected such behavior from Kakashi. The boy was so anal about the rules and punctuality (perhaps not as much so as he would be) that thinking he would do something as petulant as skipping school was... impossible. At least, that's what I had perceived, but clearly...

"What brought this on?"

Kakashi shrugged. "They aren't going to teach us anything new. I'd rather spend my time more productively. You aren't discounted for absent days, so long as you pass the exam and we're both ready to pass."

_Ah. That makes sense... There's nothing that Kakashi hates more than wasting time. If he perceives the academy to be a waste of his time, he won't think twice about the rules in regards to it._

Smiling, I said, "Alright. Let me grab my lunch - "

"Save it," Kakashi dismissed. "You can have it for dinner tonight. I'll buy lunch for us."

"Okay," I agreed readily. While Kushina had made all my meals for the week, I'm certain the extra meal wouldn't hurt. Quickly, I grabbed my sandals - and my backpack - and slipped them on, before shutting the front door behind me, keeping it unlocked. What good was a locked door in a _shinobi_ village? Besides, I still had plenty of Zetsu spores lying around to inform me if anyone unsavory entered the place. "What do you want to train in today?"

Kakashi turned away from me, walking down the steps, choosing not to respond for a couple moments. With ease, I caught up to him and started to walk by his side. "Tou-san's returning home tomorrow, and he promised to train me in the tanto, so no weapon training today. We've got the basic three down (Clones, Transformation, and Substitution) and we know how to tree-walk. I was thinking we could either begin working with elemental ninjutsu or water-walking."

"I actually already know how to water-walk," I confessed, "although I haven't been able to properly spar _while_ water-walking."

Kakashi gave me an annoyed look. "You're actually ahead of me on something? Unbelievable."

"Oh, shut up." I rolled my eyes and bumped his shoulder with mine. "You have no right to talk, Summoner-san."

"Still can't find a contract you like, huh?" Kakashi said, sounding smug. "Or maybe it's more like... still can't find a contract that likes _you_."

Flushing, I turned my nose up in the air and stubbornly looked away. " _Hmph_! Why don't we utilize elemental ninjutsu? It's been awhile since I've trained with my Mokuton."

Kakashi nodded his head. "Okay. Let's go to training grounds sixteen, then. I already know I have a lightning nature and I brought a couple scrolls that have some basic lightning techniques. I couldn't find any Mokuton, though..."

"That's okay," I said. "I actually have something of the sorts..."

 _More like notes Madara gave me to look over and practice before we_ really _begin the training with my Wood-Style. I have limited control over it (not counting my clones) - only being able to produce trees and move those around a bit, really, but the notes should have an example beginner's technique I can try. I highly doubt Madara will complain if I get a head-start on training._

Within a few minutes of hopping across roof-tops, we reached our destination. It was a wide area, surrounded by other training grounds and boxed off from the village. I could see several shinobi in the distance, utilizing the other training grounds. Kakashi sat down on the grass, pulling out a scroll from his pack and unrolling it in front of him. I sat right behind him, pressing my back against his, before mimicking his actions.

I unrolled my scroll until I saw the first technique. Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu (Wood-Style: Cutting Technique). According to this, I could manipulate the wood into a sharp object - something I had done before in my escape from the slavers) and use it as a sword. Not only that though, I could activate my wood remotely to explode into splinters; in short, I could make a bomb, and have it rain wood spikes onto my opponents.

A brutal technique, but undoubtedly useful.

And so, I slammed my left hand into the ground, feeling my chakra shift and change. I could feel the transition from skin to wood and some ways away from us, the wood resurfaced. A wooden spike stuck out from the ground, and I retracted my hand, leaving the spike. I did this several more times, creating many spikes across the training grounds - but still keeping distance from Kakashi and myself. So long as I channeled minimal chakra into the technique while attempting it, the force behind the explosion would be weak and the spikes wouldn't get too far.

Behind me, I could hear the cackle of electricity.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

Tired and frustrated, we both called it a day when we saw the sun beginning to set. Neither of us had advanced very far in our training that day - controlling the wood from a distance was surprisingly harder than I assumed. It felt like I was trying to will a rock to start flying with just my mind. It felt _impossible_.

Yet at the same time, I _knew_ I could do it, because Madara knew I could do it. He expected me to eventually learn this technique, and I would be _damned_ if I let that expectation fall.

Still, it was daunting to realize I wasn't able to manipulate a single spike that day.

Much to my displeasure though, I was not able to properly work out my frustrations because on my way home, an ANBU stopped me.

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot," I muttered dryly. "Danzō wants to see me, doesn't he? Do you need to blindfold me or something?"

"Nothing of the sorts, Senju-hime," the ANBU responded. "I am only here to escort you. If you wish, I can carry you."

I shrugged, lifting my arms up. "Sure. Have it."

_It's easier if you touch me to spread the Zetsu spores._

Deftly, the ANBU swooped me up in his - her? - arms. We moved too quickly for me to follow, and all too soon I found myself being set down in a plush cushion, sitting across from none other than Danzō.

Remembering my manners, I tucked my legs underneath me and straightened my back. I did not allow my eyes to wander around the room - that would be rude - but I could see through the corners of my eyes that it was a tidy room. The decor gave it the impression that it was a warm place, but the atmosphere felt clinical. The room felt un-lived in.

"Danzō-sama," I said, dipping my head down politely. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Might I inquire what this meeting is for?"

"Naasica-hime," Danzō greeted, "would you care for some tea?"

"Thank you, but no, I would rather not keep this too long," I responded, smiling and feigning sheepish embarrassment. "I'm certain I must stink after training all day, and I have to confess a bath sounds absolutely wonderful right now."

Danzō gave a small, fake, chuckle. "I understand. I called you here at the request of my dear friend, Hiruzen. He informed me that you have the Mokuton and requested that I trained you."

I nodded my head, accepting this. "I thank you for your offer, Danzō-sama, but I must decline. I already have a sensei that I quite like training under, and I have plenty of scrolls and notes to learn from."

"I was not aware that Konoha had such notes."

"Konoha does not," I agreed, "but my Grandmother did."

"Mito-hime knew about your nature?"

"Not in her life, no, but she told myself and Tsunadenee-chan where to find such scrolls should anyone in our family need them," I lied smoothly. "They're quite detailed and I have already started training with them. Unless you have firsthand knowledge of the Mokuton, I doubt you could provide much more help, Danzō- _sama_."

Danzō did not reply for several moments. Instead, he took a couple sips of his steaming tea. "I see. Nonetheless, I must insist on this, as well as seeing these scrolls. I am certain they could benefit Konoha."

"You have no right to ask me that. They belong to the Senju," I said, feeling mildly insulted at his blunt request. Even if it was a blatant lie that they belonged to the Senju, Madara had given them to _me_. Not this warmonger. Besides, as far as I was concerned, Danzō was an enemy. He would have to be eliminated at one point or another, and I doubt he would go down so easily. If I gave him those scrolls, it would be giving him basic blueprints to half my moves.

Unacceptable.

"I have every right," Danzō said, "as you are a kunoichi of Konoha - "

"Not yet," I retorted. "I'm still an academy student, and therefore not a kunoichi. After I graduate, feel free to ask me that."

A thick tension ran through the air at my snappish response.

_I know Madara told me to be polite, but there's just something about this man that grates me._

Danzō set his cup of tea down, his eyes narrowing into slits. "You will do well to hold your tongue to your superiors, hime."

My hands curled into fists, and a sharp anger pierced inside my stomach. Superior? _Him_? This disgusting, slimy, politician... was my superior? _What a joke_. The very thought of such sent a hot, blazing fire racing through me. I knew my cheeks wanted to turn red in anger, but I bit my tongue and kept my poker face.

Instead, I said, in a very cool, steely voice, "You requested my audience. You made your purpose known: you want to train me. I declined. Unless you have an ulterior motive for keeping me here, I will take my leave."

"I have not dismissed you yet."

"No. I dismissed myself," I said, standing up and heading towards the door.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

I made several wood clones to the best of my ability when I exited the building. I sent them all scattered, knowing Danzō could only send a few of his operatives to follow me - if he chose to do so, that is. And when I was certain that I wasn't being followed, I melded into the nearest tree and headed straight for Madara.

With a stomp in my step, and a growl in my threat, I marched into the cave. " _Unbelievable_.'I have not dismissed you, yet.' Who does he think he is? I am _not_ his tool! I do _not_ belong to him, nor will I _ever_ bow my head for him again!"

Madara gave me an amused look. "I take it your meeting went well?"

I huffed. "Please tell me we can kill him soon."

Madara smiled thinly. "Patience. Were you at least polite?"

I blushed, looking down and away in shame. "Um... I tried."

There was a sharp _whack_ on the top of my head. I clutched it, wincing at the sting. Peering up, I saw Madara was glaring at me coldly. Shame burned inside of me, and I lowered my gaze. "I'm sorry."

"I know. Let this be a lesson to you. There will be people you detest, but you will need to control yourself. You cannot allow your emotions to control you. Physically, you are still young, so I know it will be difficult - even more so in adolescence - but that is not an excuse."

"Yes, Madara-sama. I'm sorry, Madara-sama."

"Apology accepted," Madara replied softly, his voice less cold.

Feeling chastised and sheepish, I lowered my hands and looked up at him. Then my eyes widened and I gasped.

"Your eye," I whispered, finding myself staring at a one-eyed Madara.

Madara's lips twitched. "I have given Nagato one of my eyes. He'll be able to awaken the Rinnegan just fine with one, and I also gave him another, spare, Uchiha eye I had found. With luck, he'll awaken the Rinnegan in _that_ eye, as well. If not, it will remain dormant - he won't ever activate the Sharingan or its next two forms."

"Why did you give him just one?" I asked, uncertain.

Madara just gave me a dark smile. "Do not concern yourself with that. Now, it's time we started Taijutsu, or rather, it's time for you to learn a new fighting style. As you know, the academy teaches you the most basic form and a shinobi then develops their own style to better suit them. You have already begun this process, and I want you to continue it. However... I also want you to learn a second style. _My_ style."

A thrill ran through me at that. "Won't someone recognize the style if I use it, though?"

"No," Madara said. "I've been dead for decades now. I doubt anyone old enough would be able to remember it. I use a very different style - different from the standard Uchiha Clan style. It's a form I made all on my own and is unique to myself. I have already shown you the basics in utilizing the weapons I would normally use, and now we will elaborate on that. After your basic routine, we will focus on this."

"Yes, Madara-sama," I said, feeling my lips curl into a smile.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

Early the next morning, I knocked on Kakashi's door, eager for another day of training. Last night, I had told Madara I was beginning my Mokuton training. He had given me a few more tips in the first technique in response, and I was eager to try them out.

The sun wasn't even fully up, but Kakashi opened the door, dressed and ready to go.

"Hey - "

Kakashi stepped out of the house, and slammed the door shut. "Let's go."

Startled by his sour mood - I knew he wasn't a morning person, but I definitely knew I hadn't woken him - I could only nod my head and follow behind him. He wasted no time in sprinting up to the roof and then leaping across the buildings. Still a little confused, I followed after him.

When we reached the training ground, Kakashi punched the nearest tree. It shook under his force and splintered. My heart jumped at the loud sound, and constricted immediately afterwards. Hesitantly, I moved towards him and stretched out a hand. I rested my hand on his shoulder, squeezing. "Kakashi? What happened?"

Kakashi gave a short, shaking my grip off and furiously shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. I just - Tou-san is - is an _idiot_. Can we just train?"

 _Oh_.

_It's time._

_Sakumo Hatake, Kakashi's father, committed the act. He chose not to fulfill his mission, and instead saved his teammates. In doing so, he indirectly triggered the next Great War and becomes shunned by everyone... including Kakashi. Before Kakashi graduates the academy, he'll perform seppuku... leaving Kakashi to discover his body._

_Sakumo probably told Kakashi what happened on his mission, and now Kakashi..._

_... will grow to hate him._

"Mn," I murmured, "yeah, we can. I won't pry."

Kakashi's shoulders sagged, his eyes trailing down. "Thank you..."

"... Do you want to stay at my place tonight?"

Kakashi's eyes widened and he looked up sharply at me.

_I'm sure Madara won't mind if I'm a bit late. I can leave a clone with Kakashi, just like I did with Kushina._

"... Do you mean that?"

"Of course."

Kakashi fidgeted, suddenly looking shy. "... I don't know. But... maybe... we'll see."

"No rush to decide," I said softly. "I'm here for you, Kakashi. I'm not going anywhere."

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

"I see."

He said the word softly, like a whisper. His face was unreadable, and his tone conveyed no opinion. He was curious why I was late that night, but when I explained what had happened, he immediately switched to a neutral expression.

I didn't understand why I felt guilty, then, standing before him and fidgeting. Yet, I did. I felt like, in some way, I was betraying him: like allowing for Kakashi to stay with me was a betrayal of sorts; a line that should not have been crossed.

Did he think I was?

I didn't mean for that - not in the least bit.

"I can send him away," I offered quickly.

"Why?"

"I - I don't know," I confessed, "but I feel like you're upset... that I'm betraying you. I swear I don't mean to do that, I only wanted to help..."

Madara glanced away from me, his eyes trailing up to the full moon above us. We stood at the entrance of the cave, listening as the creatures of the night sing around us. "You feel like I'm upset, huh? That's interesting..."

Curious, I moved closer to him, trying to get a better read on his face. He seemed, oddly, nostalgic at that moment - like he was reminiscing in a past moment. That moment was gone, though, for he turned back to face me and cupped my cheek. His eye was dark with a steely glint to it - a gleam I could not recognize. His voice was firm and confident.

"You are not betraying me, Naasica. You _will not_ betray me."

His words were final, and I lowered my gaze.

He was my superior - I knew that and acknowledged that. But, while that grated on my nerves with Danzō, I embraced it with him. I offered myself to him long ago, and I agreed to be his tool. In this world, everyone is a tool for someone. I resigned myself to being _his_ weapon; an extension of him for the betterment of those I loved. Only he had the power, the knowledge, and the skill to truly fix this rotted world.

And only he could bring back Grandmother, and protect the others.

I would not betray him.

Ever.


	8. Beautiful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art used was made by Kira-Tsume on deviantART.
> 
> "Some men just want to watch the world burn."
> 
> -Alfred

_Like ships in the night, you keep passing me by... trying to prove who's right. And if it all comes crashing into the sea, will you be here for me...?"_

_"What's that, Naa-chan?" Tsunade inquired._

_I looked up at her, smiling. "A song."_

_"Mm... never heard of that song before," Tsunade hummed._

_I merely shrugged in response. "How much longer until you have to leave, Nee-chan?"_

_Tsunade gave me a coy look, before she scooped me up and tossed me into the air. I let out a peal of giggles, and squeals when she caught me and proceeded to tickle me. "Hmm... I was_ supposed _to have left by now, but I just know that pervert is gonna be late, so I might as well have some fun, ne?"_

_"P-P-Please l-let go," I squealed, trying to squirm away._

_Her eyes lit up. "Never!"_

_. . ._

_. ._

_._

The tension was thick in the village.

Kakashi stayed with me throughout that time period. I had rolled out the guest matt in my room, placing it beside my bed. Right before bed, I would head into the bathroom and create a clone to spend the evening with him, while I trained with Madara. He never noticed the substitution, and he seemed content enough with the situation.

When Kushina returned, she did not ask why he was there, nor did she ask him to leave.

Everyone knew the story.

We did not return to the academy, and would not until the day of the test. We woke up early, left for our usual training field, and trained. Occasionally, Minato would train with us throughout the day, or he would just train in the evenings. Regardless, this routine had settled into effect.

Every now and then, Zetsu would inform me that a ROOT member was following me. They never stayed too long, as the moment I became aware of their existence, I pointedly sought out Minato or Kushina.

Madara told me that Danzō was annoyed with me, but he told me so in an amused tone. He said thanks to the Zetsu spores I had left behind from our initial meeting, he was getting all sorts of information. _Valuable_ information.

It was a week before the graduation test.

Kakashi had his hands shoved in his pocket, and he walked beside me in the nearly empty street. The night sky twinkled above us, and a companionable silence fell between us. Minato was trailing behind us, humming a happy tune.

It was a nice moment.

"When we graduate," I began, breaking the comfortable quiet, "will you be our official sensei, Minato-sensei?"

Minato smiled. "It looks like that's what'll happen. Although, I don't know if we'll be allowed a third member or not. It just depends on how many students pass, and if we have enough. If we don't, then that's just as well."

"I hope we don't," Kakashi remarked.

"You're anti-social, so that's a given," I snorted.

"I am _not_ anti-social," Kakashi protested. Minato and I gave him a disbelieving look. "... Most of the time.... Some of the time... Well, not _all_ of the time, at least.... Shut up."

Minato laughed heartily at that. "Alright, I need to have a quick conversation with Hokage-sama before it gets too late. Will you two be able to make it home okay?"

It was Minato's turn to receive disbelieving looks.

Minato's smile never wavered, but he did place a hand on top of both of our heads in an affectionate manner. "Alright. See you both tomorrow, then."

"Bye," Kakashi said simply, while I waved my fingers goodbye to Minato. After Minato had left, I turned back to Kakashi, and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You don't want a full team?" I questioned.

"Not really," Kakashi said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "We're two of the best shinobi and kunoichi. I imagine that tomorrow, during our test, we'll be placed as the Top Rookies. Which means, in order to keep balance, we'd be stuck with the dead last of the class."

"Perhaps," I hummed. "It's just as possible we _aren't_ receiving those titles, you know. Our teacher might be biased because we've essentially skipped out on school."

"She doesn't seem like the type."

"She wouldn't be a good kunoichi if she revealed her true nature to a bunch of children."

"You have a point, there," Kakashi allowed. "Do you know what Kushina-nee is making for dinner?"

I shrugged. "No clue."

"Then I suppose we'll just have to hurry and find out. I'm actually hungry."

"You say that like you're surprised you're hungry," I teased.

Kakashi just rolled his eyes at me.

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

"You have to go home?" I echoed. Kakashi gave a short sigh, nodding his head.

"We'll take the exam and graduate tomorrow," Kakashi told me, "so I'll technically be a shinobi of Konoha. That means I can live on my own... or, well, I can move out. Not like you, Kushina-nee, or Minato-sensei will actually _let_ me live on my own."

I giggled. "Of course. You're still a brat, you know."

"I'm older than you," Kakashi mocked.

Indignantly, I huffed. "By like, a couple _months_. That's hardly noticeable. Besides, I am _way_ more mature than you."

Kakashi playfully shoved me away from him. I laughed and bumped my shoulder against his. "Anyway, I need to go home and grab some things. Hopefully... hopefully _he'll_ be gone..."

Squinting my eyes, I looked up at the dark gray sky. "Uh-huh... Why don't you let me grab your things, and you just wait for me at home?"

Kakashi gave me an annoyed look. "I don't need you to baby me. I can handle myself if he's there."

_That's not it. It's just that, more than likely, he'll be a corpse when you get there._

_I don't want you to see that._

"That's not what I was implying," I sighed. Then the rain started, and we both let out annoyed curses, speeding up. We sprinted beside each other, both of us running towards Kakashi's old home. "Come on, just go home and let me handle this!"

"Make me," Kakashi retorted childishly. He scooped up a handful of mud and threw it at my face. I deftly ducked underneath it, my more mischievous and childish side getting the best of me. I scooped up some mud, as well, and threw it at him. He dodged it easily, and as we ran, it became a sort of game.

By the time we reached his home, he was adamant about going inside, and we were both fairly muddy. We entered the quiet, dark apartment, and I resisted the urge to just knock Kakashi unconscious. Perhaps if I found the body first, I could use that as my reasoning for doing so. I really would need to find the body first though, as it would seem odd if I randomly attacked Kakashi. (as it would be random to him)

I walked swiftly through the apartment, making sure to walk ahead of Kakashi and scan each room we passed by quickly.

I heard Kakashi's small feet pad behind me, and then they stopped and turned down into another hallway. I wasted little time in turning back around and darting after him, but it seemed Fate decided to play a role into Kakashi's life.

My eyes widened, as I saw Kakashi turn his head towards one room—the living room—and I saw his eyes bulge and what little color he had drain away from him. I dug my heels into the ground and body tackled Kakashi out of that doorway and into the soft carpet. Kakashi remained stock frozen beneath me, and I placed my hands over his eyes.

In a soft voice, I whispered, "Keep your eyes closed, and stay here."

"That was... that was... Otou-san..."

"Shh," I hushed as gently as I could. "Keep your eyes closed, Kakashi. I'll take care of everything."

As I carefully lifted myself off him, I could feel the minute trembles he gave away. I withdrew my hands, noting he screwed his eyes shut tight. Raising my hands, I then created several clones. Three to find a trustworthy adult to inform of this situation, two to grab Kakashi's belongings, and the last one to begin cleaning up Sakumo's corpse.

I rolled off Kakashi and gently lifted him up into a sitting position. Recalling information from the psychology books that I had read, I then pulled Kakashi towards me, resting his head against my chest and beginning to run my fingers through his hair in a soothing manner. In a light voice, I began to talk about unimportant things, as a way of distracting him from the current reality.

We stayed like that, even after many other shinobi came in and assessed the situation. Several of those shinobi and kunoichi wanted to talk with Kakashi, but I gave them a look that seemed to warn them off.

It was not until Minato himself came, that I allowed anyone else to directly talk with Kakashi. Minato moved through the house with a somber authority, took one look at us, and then promptly lifted Kakashi up in his arms. "Hime, why don't you head back to Kushina-chan's place, okay? Do you have Kakashi's things?"

"Yes," I said, motioning to the summoning scroll beside me.

"Go ahead and bring that, and inform Kushina of what happened. I'll take care of Kakashi, and I'll bring him there as soon as I can."

"Okay."

"And Naasica?"

"Yes?"

Minato's eyes, normally so light and warm, were blank and hard. "Standard procedure."

Standard procedure. When a shinobi, or kunoichi, encountered a corpse, they had to follow a certain protocol. In this instance, where I knew Sakumo committed seppuku, I had to follow the suicide protocol. As I was the one who began with cleaning up the mess he made—wiping up the blood from the corpse to confirm the fatal blow—and the surrounding blood—it was me who would need to give a _full_ report. Kakashi would, technically, need a report as well, as he was the first to find the body. However, I was certain I could do his report for him.

Despite not technically being a kunoichi of Konoha, I was still training to be one, and thus, in the eyes of the law, was considered one.

I let out a slow breath, when Minato turned and headed out of the apartment, with a catatonic Kakashi.

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

"You... You did _what?_ "

"... Started cleaning up Sakumo-san's body," I repeated blandly, not entirely certain _why_ Kushina looked positively horrified. She looked pretty somber and worried for the majority of my report to her, but when I went on to describe that I began the process of cleaning up Sakumo's body... well...

Kushina wiped her hands dry on a towel, as she finished washing the dishes. I stood on a stool next to her, drying the dishes. Kushina's brow furrowed. "Naa-chan, that's... that's..."

"... What I was supposed to do," I said. "I... I just didn't want some stranger doing that. You know how Konoha feels about Sakumo-san right now. I just... didn't want there to be any 'accidents.'"

Kushina sighed. "I understand, and that's sweet of you, but... I just wish you hadn't done that."

"No," I corrected her, "You wish I didn't _have_ to do that."

Kushina pursed her lips, but did not deny it.

"... Anyway, Minato-sensei should be bringing Kakashi-kun soon. Is it okay for him to still stay with us?"

Kushina gave me an offended look. "As if I would have anything less! That poor boy has gone through enough. Until I can get a proper guest room, he'll have to continue to stay with you."

"That's fine with me," I answered honestly.

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

I didn't see Kakashi until it was time to take the exam. Minato guided him into our classroom. He and our teacher exchanged quiet, knowing looks, before Kakashi moved to sit down next to me. Minato left the classroom, and our instructor told us that she would call us out one by one to take the exam. When she then left the room, I immediately turned towards Kakashi.

"How are you doing?" I asked, concern leaking into my voice. Surprisingly, I was genuinely worried for him. He looked tired—like he didn't (understandably) sleep at all last night. I was shocked to find myself sincerely annoyed at Minato when he didn't bring Kakashi home like he said he would last night. Kakashi needed us—needed _me_. I was... I was his friend, damn it.

Yes.

 _Friend_.

I cared for Kakashi. I cared for Kushina. I cared for Minato.

_If you cared for them, then why are you with Madara?_

I ignored the familiar voice, instead, focusing on Kakashi.

"Tired," Kakashi answered simply, rubbing his eyes.

Hesitantly, I grasped his hands and placed them in my own. I squeezed them tightly, lowering my gaze and staring at them. Kakashi stared down at our hands too, and we stayed like that. I fiddled with his hands, offering him a silent, physical comfort. He was not one for physical affection, and hugging made him uncomfortable, but I knew he still would need some tangible gesture of comfort. A kind of physical anchor to keep him out of the painful thoughts that were undoubtedly trying to wiggle their way inside his head.

Time ticked by, and one by one, other names were called.

When it was time for Kakashi's turn, I squeezed his hands again and wished him luck.

He came back within two minutes, holding a _hitai-ate._

And he sat back down beside me, and I took his hands again.

My own test went by without a hitch, and just as quickly. I performed the wood-style clone, coupled with substitution and genjutsu. The proctors handed me my own _hitai-ate_ , and then Kakashi and I left.

Team assignments would be given tomorrow.

I guided him back home, and I told him to get into my bed. He didn't protest much—too tired, both physically and mentally, I suspected.

I pulled the blankets over him, and then I sat down beside him, pulled out my homework Madara had given me to read.

Around noon, Minato and Kushina arrived in my bedroom. They pulled in some cushions, and sat by the bed. While Minato read some large novel, Kushina curled up beside him, her head resting in his lap and napped.

No words were spoken.

No words were needed.

That was how we spent our day.

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

Madara held out some black cloth to me, that night. His eyes were especially hard to read. Tentatively, I took the garments and examined them closely. They resembled what he used to wear in his childhood—except much darker, and the obi was orange. There was even a pair of black gloves with it.

"Change into those," Madara said, turning away and grabbing some other things on the throne behind him. After I had quickly changed into the clothes, Madara handed me some black boots to put on. I pulled my long black pants over them, taking note how the ends of the pants were wide and breezy, like the sleeves. Plenty of room for maneuverability and easy to hide things in. Once I had slipped the boots on, Madara handed me a perfectly blank mask.

"A mask?" I inquired, staring at the thing. It didn't have any visible eye holes, but flipping it over, I could see that it operated like a sort of one-way mirror. It wouldn't hinder my vision in the slightest. Madara merely nodded his head, and with a frown, I placed the mask over my face, and pulled back the black strap to keep it in place.

"Good, it fits," Madara remarked.

He turned back around a final time, and then presented me with a miniature gunbai. Even if he could not see it, my eyes widened and I sucked in a sharp breath. "That's..."

"Yes," Madara said. "For quite some time I have been training you to mimic me. This will be your first night put to the test. Do not worry about your hair, or masking your voice. I merely want you to get into the practice of being me—of working properly as my tool."

"What will you have me do, exactly, Madara-sama?"

"There is a small family outside of Kirigakure. I want you to slaughter them."

A frown marred my face. A family implied children. "All of them?"

"Leave not a single trace. Preferably, butcher them. We will be framing someone. Zetsu will fill you in on how exactly I want you to butcher them on the way there."

"Why?" I asked, confused. What good would it bring to our plan to harm an innocent family?

"Is the reason that I simply want them gone, not good enough for you?" Madara inquired, smirking slyly, but I could see a glint in his eyes. A dark one that promised retribution if I spoke my next words poorly.

I bowed, but still felt confused. "I... suppose not, Madara-sama. I... trust your judgment. If you believe this will further our plan, then I... will do as you command, no matter the order."

Looking back up, I could see a pleased smile crawl its way on his face, before disappearing just as quickly as it appeared. "Very good. Although, I suppose it will not hurt to tell you. They are a part of one of Orochimaru's experiment. From Danzō's ROOT network (and Zetsu's spores listening in on them) I can gather that they are possible candidates for Orochimaru's experimentation regarding Hashirama. As you know, Orochimaru originally, later on succeeded in recreating Hashirama's kekkai genkai in one individual. From my reports gathered, he has not yet stumbled across those people necessary to properly create _that_ situation. For the moment, he is using this... 'family' as his test subjects.

"I do not want him to succeed in this endeavor, _ever_. Tonight, he will be sending one of his subordinates to a round on them. He will be carrying notes with him. As we do not yet have the power (in our current state) to mount an assault on Orochimaru's base, we will have to harass him in a more... focused manner. I want you to slaughter and destroy all of Orochimaru's research in regards to Hashirama's kekkai genkai. I do not know what happened to this family in... canon... but I will _not_ run the risk of him succeeding on the off chance. We do not leave things to fate or luck, Naasica.

" _We_ will set the parameters and stage for our success. We will not allow a situation of equality between us and our enemies. We will control what variables are inputted, and what outcomes shall occur. This is _war_. We cannot afford the luxury of mistakes here, Naasica. In order to create the most optimal setting for us, we must take charge, and not allow _fate_ or _luck_ to play a hand. This is one of those first steps we must take, Naasica. You _will not_ fail me tonight. _You_ are my weapon in this war, Naasica. _You_ are my tool to create this stage. _You_ are my right-hand in this endeavor."

His eyes were bright with a dark mirth, and a smug, triumphant smirk had crawled its way across his face.

He was enjoying this.

I had fallen speechless at his words, my mind reeling and stomach heaving. I felt light and heavy all at once. I was ecstatic that he had placed me in such high regards, but I could feel the weight and pressure of his words. They weighed me down, yet lifted me to new heights in the same instance. It was such a conflicting feeling, but I couldn't say I disliked it.

Everything about our situation seemed to cause some sort of turmoil—whether inside of myself, or for others.

Turmoil and chaos seemed to be what Madara thrived in the most. He was like the eye of a hurricane; a mad scientist on the brink of a terrifying revelation; an artist relishing in that blissful moment where everything seemed to connect. He sat back and watched as the entire world was upheaved and tossed about. He was the orchestrator to this beautiful, dark symphony. I knew, _I knew,_ his means were questionable at best. I knew that, and I accepted it long ago. Because in every sense, the ends justified the means.

And if those means were enjoyable to him, well... how could I find fault in that?

Because, in the end, we were _helping_ everyone. How could he _not_ find joy in that fact? How could _I_ not find joy in that?

This chaos... this beautiful chaos that I could see him beginning to create...

... _it thrilled me._

So as feelings of joy and fear burned inside of me, I welcomed the contradiction they gave. The _turmoil_ they brought. They were chaotic—something Madara thrived upon, and the idea that _I_ could thrive upon them, as well... like him... was an appealing one.

I thought of Kakashi, Kushina, and Minato. I knew they would be devastated to know what I was doing—what I _would_ be doing. They would be in so much pain, and half of me hated that, _loathed_ it, in fact. But at this moment, I could easily ignore that half. Because in the end, I was doing this _for_ them. Madara and I were creating the perfect world.

They would only hate this situation because they did not understand. They _could_ not. They were ignorant of all the variables—of all the knowledge Madara and I had. Even if we tried to explain our side, I knew they would be blinded by their short-sightedness. They would only look at the tree, and not the forest.

Madara and I saw the grand scheme of things.

They _needed_ us to protect them—to _save_ them.

What kind of a friend would I be if I did not protect them?

So yes, with great ease, I ignored, and squashed down that tiny, whispering voice that screamed _murderer_ at me.

I embraced the far more pleasant emotions I felt at that moment—the adrenaline pumping through me, the elevation I had felt from Madara's words.

I grinned up at Madara, my cheeks warming and my voice light. "I will _not_ fail you, Madara-sama."

"I know," Madara responded simply. "Now move. You do not have much time."

"Yes, Madara-sama," I said, resisting the urge to giggle gleefully.

_Do you see it, Grandmother?_

_The start of something grand._

_I hope you're watching._

_It's going to be b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l._


	9. Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**"Some men just want to watch the world burn."** _

_**-Alfred** _

_Grandmother tilted her head curiously at me, a coy smile playing on her lips. "Little sapling, what are you doing?"_

_I only smiled in response, clinging to the large tree in our backyard._

_Grandmother giggled._

" _Naa-chan! Where are you? Obaa-chan, have you seen Naa-chan?" Tsunade called out, opening our backyard door and peering at Grandmother. I hid in the leaves of the tree._

_Grandmother gave Tsunade an innocent look. "I have not."_

" _Mm-hmm," Tsunade responded dubiously. Then she rolled her eyes, and frowned thoughtfully. Her chakra flared, and then her eyes snapped up to my spot. "There you are, you bratty sapling!"_

_I squealed when Tsunade flickered towards me and plucked me out of the branches. "You can't hide from baths forever."_

" _But you pull my hair when you wash it," I protested, already wincing at what she would do to my poor scalp._

_Tsunade huffed. "That's because you keep squirming."_

" _Do not!"_

" _Do, too!'_

" _Do not!"_

" _Do, too!"_

_Grandmother laughed at us. "Oh, honestly, girls..."_

_. . ._

_. ._

_._

Early in the morning, I returned back to my room, and swapped places with my clone. I crawled into bed, and Kakashi gave a grumbling noise before scooting over. From my clones' memories, it seemed he had awoken in the middle of the night—likely due to a nightmare—and my clone pulled him into bed and tried to comfort him until he fell asleep.

I buried my face in my pillow, my hands clenching into fists.

Despite washing thoroughly, and that I wore gloves, I could still feel the dried blood on it.

The mission had gone off without a hitch. Zetsu watched over me, as I effortlessly eliminated the civilian family. They were unknown and large, but they were completely helpless. When Orochimaru's servant had arrived, I had already set up numerous traps around the perimeter.

She had been a screamer.

Tiredly, I closed my eyes and snuggled back into the warm blankets, a sort of warmth starting to glow inside of me.

I had succeeded Madara's mission, and he was pleased with me.

That alone seemed to validate what I had done.

So why did I feel so weary?

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

A camera flashed and Kakashi shot Kushina a disgruntled look. Kushina giggled at us. "Come now, of course I have to take pictures! Today you two are going to get your teams. This is a great thing!"

"Thank you, Nee-chan," I said, smiling warmly at her. "Ano... we should probably head out now, we don't want to be late."

Kushina gave a sigh. "Oh, alright. Be sure to bring by your guy's' full team to dinner, okay?"

"Okay, Nee-chan," we chorused, already out the door.

"And be nice to your new teammate, _Kakashi-kun_!" Kushina called.

"Why are you only telling me?" Kakashi shouted back, grabbing my hand and starting to run. "Whatever. Come on Naasica, we're going to be late."

"Okay, okay," I laughed. Kakashi's face was one of that of sheepish embarrassment, and irritation. It was a good face to have, in light of what the past week had been like for him. I squeezed his hand, and picked up the pace to run beside him.

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

We stopped running when we reached the entrance to the academy. Class hadn't started yet, but there was a large group of small kids gathered around our classroom window outside. Kakashi spared them an annoyed glance. "What are they doing?"

Shrugging, I responded, "Who knows?"

Peering a bit closer, I recognized one of the children. "Oi! Obito-kun."

All of their heads snapped towards us, and many of the girls squealed with delight upon seeing Kakashi. Obito gave me a big grin and jogged over to us—the rest of his classmates followed shortly behind. "Hey Naasica-chan. Huh? What's that on your guy's' head?"

"It's our _hitai-ate_ ," Kakashi said shortly. "We graduated yesterday."

" _What?!_ " Obito yelped. "Th-That's insane!"

"That's so amazing!"

" _Oowah~_ So expected of Kakashi-kun."

"Senju-hime is so cool, and cute!"

"Kakashi-kun, you're so cool!"

Almost immediately the two of us were surrounded by cooing children, squealing fangirls/fanboys, and just general shallow adoration. I resisted the urge to smirk cockily at them. It wouldn't do if I showed such a narcissist nature to my fellow comrades so soon after all. Besides, the praise, in my opinion, wasn't earned.

What we had accomplished was not an achievement—it was an expectation. Madara and I had far greater things in mind than simply _graduating_. Becoming a Genin was not something to be coveted or to be _happy_ about. It was just a tool—just a step in the right direction. So while their praise was nice, it was ultimately pointless and hollow.

Naturally, I wouldn't point this out to them, or the others. Instead, I smiled politely. "Thank you. Kakashi-kun and I worked very hard for this, and it is... _appreciated_... to be noticed."

Kakashi glanced at me, his eyes unreadable.

Suddenly, his hand snapped out and he grabbed my own. I blinked in surprise at this action, but did not protest as he suddenly flickered to the roof of the academy, consequentially dragging me with him. Once we were at the top, he abruptly released my hand. "... Come on. Let's meet up with Sensei and grab our new teammate."

"Ah... mm."

"No need!" Minato chirped.

We both snapped our heads around to find Minato landing lightly on the roof. He was wearing what _had_ to be a sheepish look, and he was rubbing the back of his head.

"So... where's our third teammate?" I asked, cocking my head and looking up at Minato inquisitively. Minato smiled in response, and leaned towards us.

"Funny you should ask that," he commented. "It seems we'll be working as a three-man squad for awhile, at least until there's a graduating class with a spare student. As it stands, most classes already have a three-man squad in mind."

"I see," was all Kakashi said, but there was _definitely_ a pleased note in his tone. He was most certainly satisfied with this outcome, and I couldn't resist sending him in a smug, knowing look. He responded by flushing, and averting his gaze from me, while simultaneously clearing his throat.

Minato eyed us for a couple more moments before a lazy smirk crawled across his face. "Interesting."

"I think not," Kakashi snapped.

Minato held up his hands in a peace-like gesture, chuckling. "Alright, alright."

"So... so as a three-man squad, what will we do?"

Minato's expression darkened for a moment. "I'm afraid we'll be... preparing."

"Preparing?"

"It seems we might be entering another war."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "... War?"

Minato sighed. "A shame, seeing how we just ended one war a scarce few years ago. No matter... Konoha will, naturally, avoid sending our Genin and children to the front lines, but given how we haven't fully recovered from the last war... It may be inevitable. Hopefully that won't happen for quite some time, but in the meantime, I'm going to be pushing you both _very_ hard. I don't think I could live with myself if I did not prepare you for the worst."

 _I doubt Madara would be pleased if I dropped dead due to the war either,_ I mused. _I have a nasty feeling his training is going to get more intense._

"Very well," I said easily. "Where shall we start then, Sensei?"

Minato smiled again. "I was hoping we could work on both of your guys' teamwork."

Kakashi snorted distastefully, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I just continued to smile and chirp, "Okay, Minato-sensei! Where would you like to train?"

"How about we go to training ground six?" Minato suggested, his eyes bright. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single silver bell. "I want you both to work together to get this from me. If you both get the bell by the end of the day then you can choose what we learn tomorrow. If not, then... D-Ranks!"

Kakashi and I had both done our studying, (well, I just knew from the anime) and we resisted the urge to cringe at the prospect of the D-Ranks. Given that we would be entering war, C-Ranks would be scarce anyway, and more than likely we would be sent out to fight before we _actually_ received a standard C-Rank.

Frankly, I would rather train until we had to join the war, rather than waste the time attending to the errands of some civilians.

Kakashi and I exchanged grim looks. "This is going to be a hell of a fight. You ready?"

"As ever," Kakashi muttered.

Minato grinned at us. "Then let's head out to the training grounds!"

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

I lay on my stomach, wheezing. My legs and arms felt like jelly, and Kakashi was laying on top of me, on his back, breathing just as heavily. A low groan emitted from my lips as I tried to move a single one of my muscles.

"That was fun," Minato chirped, clapping his hands together. He looked a little dirty, but other than that, he was completely fine. Kakashi and I, meanwhile, were covered in burn marks, scratches, bruises, and grime. Kakashi gasped for air, letting out a strangled moan.

"I... hate... you..." Kakashi wheezed.

"So... much," I agreed, then groaned again.

Minato just laughed at us. "Well, thankfully you two will just have to do some nice, easy, D-Rank missions tomorrow so you can recuperate. After that, I want to really work on your guys' taijutsu and combination techniques. While you work fine together, you both have a tendency of working individually. That's gonna have to change."

"Yes Sensei," we moaned.

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

A handful of weeks passed by since our first official training session with Minato as Genin. Naturally, a routine took place. Minato would push us further than he ever had before for a couple days, then we would take a small break the following day with meaningless D-Ranks. Rinse and repeat. Minato seemed to favor heavily on improving on what we already knew—namely our taijutsu, teamwork, and what ninjutsu we already knew. He said he didn't want to waste time on teaching us something new, when he knew there was a good chance we would be entering the war soon enough.

He said perfecting what we already knew would, more than likely, save our lives.

Due to this rather extraneous routine that had taken place during the day, Madara advised that I only came every other night, or something akin. It was also decided that I would not visit him while I was outside of the village, either due to because I was drafted to the front, or because I was on a mission with my team. It posed far too great of a risk.

Although I _highly_ doubted I would be sent off to the frontlines so soon. Regardless, if Konoha needed me there or not, I was still the _last_ living Senju in Konoha, moreover I had the coveted _kekkai genkai._

I would be a prime target on the frontlines.

I figured, more than likely, our team would be sent to more... secure areas for reinforcements, or something akin.

I might have been treated with care, but I _was_ still a weapon for the village. They couldn't afford to hide me away in times war.

No matter how much a few of them wanted to.

I stretched out my arms, raising them up to the sky and yawning. It was early evening, but it looked as if it was in the middle of the night, given the darkness. It had been storming heavily in Konoha the past few days, and would be for a while longer.

" _Tonight looks like a light one though_ ," I mused, staring up at the heavy clouds.

Closing my eyes, I relaxed and allowed my feet to guide me. I had a fairly good instinct to _not_ run into anything with my eyes closed, and a very good idea of the layout of the village. I had nowhere specific to be, or anywhere to go, so I just allowed my feet to guide me.

The thunder rolled pleasantly above me, and continued to walk blindly.

For several minutes I did this in silence, however at the end of those several minutes, I finally stopped.

I opened my eyes.

That's when I noticed it.

My breath caught in my throat.

_Note to self: Never do this again. Goddamn subconscious._

I stopped before the tree, reaching out a hand and brushing my fingers across the bark. It was the same tree, the very same tree that Grandmother had told me about. It was kept in our backyard and on good days, Grandmother would sit underneath it. Hashirama originally made it for her in the Uzumaki Compound to keep her company when he was away. When they were married and she moved to the Senju Compound, and then to Konoha, he brought the tree with them.

It was a big tree, smooth and chocolate brown. Despite the chillier weather, the leaves were still a beautiful, lush green. It was taller than the compound and I remembered Tsunade and Grandmother sitting underneath it with me. I remembered spinning, and reading, and laughing, and –

My fingers dug into the bark, my heart constricting as tears started to prick my eyes.

_Grandmother, if I made a tree now for you, would you even come? Or would you... or would you turn away from me, so ashamed of what I'm doing now?_

My fingers started to dig further into the bark, my nails bleeding and my eyes darkening. _But, I'm doing this for_ you _. For_ us _. For_ all _of us. Don't you see, Grandmother? This world took you from me. They took Tsunade away from me. They took Hashirama away from you! How could you find beauty in this world? How could you find happiness in this world? How could you smile? How could you just accept your death and leave me behind?!_

Trembling, my left hand curled into a fist and I slammed it against the tree. It shook and quaked, the bark splintering off from my punch.

_You stayed for Hashirama when he made you a tree._

_But I know if I made you a tree now, you wouldn't even glance back at me._

This... This was the tree Hashirama had made for her. It was the tree she had raised me under, the tree she loved so dearly, and the tree that meant the world to her. My hands shook as they slowly started to convert into wood.

My wood twisted and wrapped around itself, not forming the neat little wooden trees Hashirama and Yamato could create, but some kind of darkened, sick thing. The twisted wood wrapped around _their_ tree, slithering around it like some kind of snake. It tightened and squeezed, and Hashirama's tree shook and splintered, folding in where my wood pressured it to.

I retracted my hands, transforming them back to flesh, but leaving the grown wood.

Their tree, the tree that had once stood tall and beautiful, was forced to bend over to the will of my own tree that had wrapped around it and grown on top of it. My leaves weren't the pretty green, but a bright, burning orange. Eyes brimming with tears, I wiped furiously away at them.

Suddenly sickened at the scene, I turned on my heel and left. My feet pounded into the ground as I sprinted away, my stomach heaving.

Above me, I could hear the first crackling sound of thunder.

"Goddamnit," I whispered, closing my heads and shaking my head. " _Goddamnit_."

_Why can't you understand?_

_Why_ won't _you understand?_

"Goddamnit!" I screamed, then abruptly I slammed into something. My eyes snapped open, and I could see Kakashi, snapping out his arms and catching me before I fell back. His eyes were wide.

"Naasica?"

I froze, fear creeping into me.

_He saw._

_He saw me without my mask._

_He saw me._

_He saw_ me _._

_He. Sees. Me._

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, worry etched into his tone and expression. I shook my head, cold fear crawling through me. Adrenaline started to pump inside of me, causing goosebumps to rise and everything seemed to intensify. I started to pull away, but Kakashi's grip tightened. "Naasica, _what's wrong_?"

I licked my dry lips, and the thunder roared above us. "I..."

It began to downpour, and I couldn't resist the bitter laugh. "Sure. Why not. Let it rain. This is already such a _fucking_ great day."

"Naasica?"

I shook my head, still laughing humorlessly. "Isn't it great? This is just a _fan-fucking-tastic_ world, isn't it? Everything is so _goddamn_ perfect."

I yanked myself out of Kakashi's arms and abruptly started to walk away. Everything was spinning around me, somehow. A handful of cold, slick stones gathered in the pit of my stomach, and with each step, they seemed to grow bigger; heavier. My legs moved in an almost jerkish motion, no matter how dearly I tried to smooth out my actions.

A shudder ran through me. It seemed like I was on a precipice; my toes were dangling over the edge of a dark, dark abyss. I wanted to step back, I wanted to turn my back to that _horrible_ pit that awaited me if I fell, but I found I was unable to. My emotions were running high, and all I could think about in the back of my head was: _Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, badbad, badbad, badbadbad—_

Kakashi easily caught up to me, and started to walk beside me. "You seem..."

"Like an insane psychopath?" I muttered, then giggled.

Laughing was _so_ much better than screaming.

Kakashi blinked in surprise at that. "What? No. I was just going to say... you seem like you really need this."

"Need what?" I asked irritably, picking up my pace.

I couldn't reform it. I couldn't seem to put it back on. I was trying my damndest to place the mask back on, but I just couldn't. I lacked the willpower to completely suppress my childish hormones. Everything seemed to be tumbling and spiraling out of control.

I had to get away. I had to hide and regroup.

I _had_ to run away.

I was teetering on the edge.

"Like you really needed to drop your guard," Kakashi said.

I froze.

"The rain ruined your cover-up, by the way," Kakashi added. "I see the bags under your eyes."

I clutched my forehead, my eyes drooping, and I started to laugh again, beginning to move again. I wanted to sprint, but my legs felt like jelly, and my head was spinning. I knew I had to get away from here—away from _him_ , but my body just refused to operate like I wanted it to. "Of course. So much for waterproof."

"I'm glad," Kakashi said quietly.

"What?"

Kakashi glanced over at me. "Like I said: it seems like you really need this. It's not healthy to suppress _everything_ , you know."

"That's _rich_ coming from _you_."

"I have my own ways of coping," Kakashi responded mildly. "And I let my guard down occasionally."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I wasn't hiding how I felt after... after what Tou-san did. You, on the other hand, I've never seen you upset. Never seen you frustrated, or sad. You're always... cheerful, or tired. I don't think Nee-chan's noticed, yet, or Minato-sensei. They haven't spent as much time with you as I have. But, they will."

I snorted.

_What do I do? My mask isn't coming back to me. I just..._

I was leaning over the edge.

"Why do you insist on hiding this?" Kakashi asked, glancing over at me.

I swallowed roughly, stopping when Kakashi grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. A part of me was screaming to yank my hand out of his grasp, but the more dominant part of me just sort of... froze. His touch sent a sharp jolt through my system, and it did nothing to soothe my growing panic. Because I couldn't escape him for the moment, I refused to meet his gaze, my entire body facing away from him and my head bowed to hide my expression. "It's what's expected of me."

"Because you're the Senju heiress?"

_In part._

"Yeah," I answered softly.

"So?" Kakashi challenged. "Who cares?"

"I'm the heiress, there are certain ways I must act—"

"Says who?"

When I didn't answer, Kakashi let out a snort.

"The only one who chooses how you act is yourself," Kakashi told me. "Granted, there are certain... behaviors... that are encouraged more than others, but... but if it's eating you up, then you shouldn't push yourself like that."

"You're the one who's always saying that shinobi and kunoichi should follow conduct," I retorted.

Kakashi shrugged, and looked down. "... Maybe I was wrong. I don't... I don't like seeing you so... so distant from me."

I jerked, trying again to pull away from him, but he kept holding my hand. "What?"

"I told you," Kakashi said quietly. "The others don't spend as much time with you as I do, so I can tell that you always got your guard up. You're sincere, but at the same time it's like you're just going through the motions. Like half of you here, and the other half of you is elsewhere. I don't know."

" _Am I really that transparent?"_ I wondered.

"I think," Kakashi began, "that you should just be like this."

I deigned him with a dry look. Sardonically, I responded, " _This_? You think I should be like _this_?"

"If this is how you really are, then yes."

Snorting, I looked at where I was. We had stopped to stand on top of Hashirama's head. I hadn't even realized, and the irony of where we stood was not lost upon me. I looked up at the crying sky. My hands clenched into fists. Kakashi's iron-tight grip on my wrist relaxed, and he lowered his hand to properly grab my own. It wasn't a tight hold, like he had previously, but rather gentle and it reminded me vaguely of what _I_ did to him when I was trying to comfort him.

_Does he think I need to be comforted?_

I snorted at the thought. "What if I was bit crazy?"

"That's okay," Kakashi told me. My head snapped up and I locked gazes with him. His black eyes were burning with a stubborn ferocity that reminded me of Grandmother when she was talking about something she was passionate about. There was no denying the sincerity behind his words when I stared into his eyes.

I felt my stiffness start to ebb away; replaced with a sort of overbearing exhaustion. My body began to slack, and for some odd reasons, I trembled. The turmoil of emotions I had felt, just minutes prior, when I was thinking of Grandmother, began to drain away.

In their place was something I couldn't quite describe—couldn't quite understand. My voice cracked. "What if I was a bit mean?"

"That's okay."

"What if I was bad?"

"That just makes things interesting."

I laughed loudly at that, and the thunder roared above me. The answer was so flippant, and so unexpected, it had surprised me. The fear that had previously gripped me tightly melted away under the rain, and at his words. I teetered, as if I was on the cusp of a cliff, about to fall back into something vast and unknown. I felt emotionally drained, and defeated, yet oddly... oddly satisfied.

I was teetering at that edge, but I knew I wasn't going to fall in, because suddenly, _ohsosuddenly_ , there was a rope around me.

There was an anchor.

I looked back over at Kakashi, and I offered him a small, sincere smile. "You mean it?"

Kakashi stared unflinchingly at me. "I swear it. You're... you're my best friend."

I turned to face him, and I grabbed his hands, my gaze softening. "Okay. I guess I can try."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

And in that one tiny moment, not once did Madara or our plans cross my mind.

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

"The best lies have a grain of truth in them," I told Madara that night. After my rather sentimental moment with Kakashi had passed, we had gone home and I had realized what I had done. Panicking, I told Kushina and Kakashi I had a migraine, and headed to bed. I immediately went straight to Madara after creating a clone. I had explained a little bit of what had happened.

"So you will add a bit of your true nature into your mask?" Madara summarized.

"Yes," I said. "I think it'll make it more believable."

Madara gave a small nod, his dark eyes pinning me. "It probably will, especially if this... Kakashi... had seen through you. Very well. I do not think I need to warn you against being _too_ open, do I?"

"No, Madara-sama," I answered quickly. "They are... they are still our enemies. I cannot relax my guard completely."

He smiled at me. "I am glad you understand. What brought on this emotional imbalance that dropped your guard in the first place?"

Hesitantly, I explained, "I had... I had been thinking about Grandmother."

"I see."

A moment of silence fell between us.

"Something else happened," Madara questioned, though it came out more like a statement.

I lowered my gaze demurely. "Not much. I just... I was surprisingly emotional."

Another moment of silence.

"I understand that these tasks are not for the light hearted," Madara finally said. "I am... very... pleased that you have been handling them so well."

My head snapped up, my eyes widening, and my heart leapt into my throat. "M-Madara-sama?"

But it was already spoken; already said and done, and Madara was turning away from me to move onto the next task.

However, for the remainder of the night, _nothing_ could squash down that smile on my face, or that warm, bubbling happiness his words gave me.

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

Three months after being made Genin, two weeks after my conversation with Kakashi, and it happened.

We were sent out.

It was supposed to be a simple recon mission. We were to relieve another Genin team of guard duty, and watch over the post for a week, until we were replaced.

The post had been under Konoha's guard since the First Great War. It was far from our village, but still deep within our lands. It was a few kilometers from the border between the Land of Fire, and the Land of Valleys (which housed Kusogakure—Village hidden in the grass). From what I had been able to gather, Iwagakure had infiltrated Kusogakure and forcibly took over the Land of Valleys in an attempt to attack the Land of Fire. Unfortunately for them, there were a handful of Konoha shinobi and kunoichi hidden in the village.

These shinobi and kunoichi were able to send word of help to Konoha—although they did not give any specifics. Hatake Sakumo, Kakashi's father, was sent with a small team to analyze the situation. Sadly, though, the shinobi and kunoichi who had infiltrated Kusogakure on our behalf were found out and butchered. Sakumo valiantly lead his team further into Kusogakure and discovered a hidden grove where they had planted all the information they had gathered.

When they had found this information, he and his team were discovered and ambushed. Sakumo was then left with a choice of retrieving this valuable information, or protecting his comrades—as he couldn't protect both from the Iwagakure shinobi.

He chose his teammates, and in consequence Konohagakure lost out in very _valuable_ information for this war. It could be argued that because of this decision, he even cost Konoha the war. Information was a priceless thing, especially in times of war, and every shinobi and kunoichi should be willing to lay down their lives for it. You never knew what would give you the edge.

What would give your _village_ the edge.

It was this burden of guilt that had ultimately driven Sakumo to an honorable suicide.

Our mission should have been relatively easy and safe (relatively, of course, as we were still _at war_ ).

"We should be nearing the base now," Minato said, slowing down.

I was about to reply, but cut myself off as I read the atmosphere.

There was this unnatural coldness in the air. It hung heavily, oppressively, upon us. A shiver ran up my spine, as this sense of _wrongness_ descended upon me. Reflexively, my back straightened, and my eyes hardened. Involuntarily, I had moved closer to Minato and Kakashi, my shoulders brushing against Kakashi's as we walked.

I could hear this buzzing sound—like flies—ahead of us. Minato tensed, and held out his arms, signaling for us to stop.

That was the only warning we had before the ground erupted beneath our feet. I leapt back, Kakashi at my side, as two Iwagakure shinobi jumped up from the ground behind us.

" _Tt_ ," I muttered, whirling around and delivering a kick aimed right at their heads. The one I had kicked at, a blonde shinobi, gave me a grin and easily ducked beneath it. "Kakashi, you take that one, I got this one."

"Easy," Kakashi said, palming a kunai.

Blondie gave a chuckle, leering at me. "My, my, what pretty little eyes you have there."

My eyes narrowed, and I flickered towards him, pulling out a kunai. The man pulled out a long, red katana from his back and parried my first jab. He kicked directly at my head, and I channeled chakra into the bottom of my feet and propelled myself above him. I twisted and flipped over him, landing deftly on my left foot before whirling around to face him.

His foot came flying at me again, and I held my arms to brace myself against the blow, pushing my chakra into my arms to reinforce their strength. The kick connected harshly against my arms with a resounding _smack_ , and I inwardly winced, knowing that it would leave behind a very nasty bruise in the morning. He landed in front of me, and I sliced up at him with my kunai. He quickly grabbed my arm with the kunai, and I immediately released my hold of it, dropping it to my other hand.

I jabbed at him, and he let go of my arm to grip his katana with both hands and parry the blow again. We struggled for a moment against each other, but his superior physical strength got the better of me and I lost my grip on the kunai. I tossed it up in the air, and his eyes followed it for a split second. In that hairline of a second, I flickered and grabbed a hold of his wrist holding the katana.

With strength harnessed under Madara's careful guidance, I pushed an absurd amount of chakra into my hand and squeezed _hard_ on his wrist. I heard the bones fracture and break under my pressure, and a vindictive glee rushed through me.

He immediately lost his grip on his katana and made a grab for me with his other hand. I jumped back, then leapt up, kicking at my falling kunai and propelling it towards him. He twisted, attempting to dodge it, but it sliced through the side of his neck, drawing a good amount of blood.

A smirk crawled its way across my face, but I lost it immediately when I felt two hands grab a hold of my feet.

Electricity pumped through me, overriding all of my senses with hot pain.

 _Fuck!_ I thought, my eyes trailing down to see the two hands poking out of the ground.

The lightning was overbearing, and it had every inch of me screaming in protest against the energy. Gritting my teeth, I slammed the palm of my hand into the ground below. Wood erupted beneath them, digging into the ground like sharp spears. The hands were withdrawn instantaneously, and I pulled back my hand, shaking.

Trembles ran through me, and it took a surprising amount of willpower not to twitch. There was still an echo of the pain burning through me, but I ignored it. I had to.

In all honesty, if it wasn't for Madara's pain-tolerance training, I would have undoubtedly had passed out from that attack.

It might have been hellish, but it was damn well worth it.

"Wood-style?" the blonde shinobi said, tilting his head. An Iwagakure kunoichi popped up from the ground, raising an eyebrow at me. "Well, well, looks like we hit the jackpot."

She grinned at me. "I'll say. Just think of what our village could really do with _that_ ability."

A minute shudder ran through me, though not from fear.

From disgust.

"Worthless," I muttered, slapping my hands together and then slamming it onto the ground. "You are both... just... so... _worthless_."

The ground trembled beneath me, and roots snapped out, shooting out at them. The easily dodged the roots, but the roots were just a stepping stone. I raised my hands again, forming the _Tiger_ seal, and smirking.

In a millisecond, the roots exploded outwards in a focused direction. _Thousands_ of splints hailed upon the Iwagakure shinobi and kunoichi before they even had a chance to blink. It pierced through them, blood spraying out from the force of the blows, and painting the area.

Only the kunoichi didn't die instantly from the attack. She laid there, a human pin-cushion, and gurgled, and choked in her own blood. I eyed her coolly, then turned my back to her.

She was an enemy.

Then the hairs on the back of my neck tingled, and my eyes widened as a kunai was placed against my throat. A soft, _slimy_ , voice whispered into my ear. "Neat trick. I wouldn't suggest trying it again."

Fear pumped through me for a split second, accompanied by another rush of adrenaline.

A hand was placed on my waist, and a cold fury washed over me, replacing the fear easily.

_Don't._

_Touch._

_Me._

Those were the only three thoughts I had until there was a gurgling sound, and the hand fell away, as well as the kunai.

I turned my head, finding a slightly battered Kakashi pulling out his kunai from the back of the Iwagakure shinobi. Kakashi eyed the gasping man for a moment, then snorted and turned away. "... You okay?"

"I'm fine," I said easily enough. "You?"

"Fine," Kakashi admitted. "We should check in with Minato-sensei now."

"Mm."

 **(** **ง** ⌣ ⌣ **)** **ง**

"It's surprising they made it past our original border patrol," Minato commented, holding an unconscious enemy over his shoulder. He then shifted his weight and placed the shinobi against a tree, pulling out cuffs, and chakra-restraining rope. "I doubt they were here long, mind you, but still... I'll have to send a message to Hokage-sama immediately and tell him what happened. We'll need to send Jōnin-level squads here to re-secure it again."

"We could do that," Kakashi said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "It would be easy."

Minato shook his head. "It's not that simple. Besides, you're still children; still _Genin_ for that matter. You _shouldn't_ be dealing with this kind of things. Leave it to the Jōnin, Chūnin, and ANBU for now."

"Yes, Sensei," we chorused.

Minato ran his hands over his face and sighed. "I don't sense anyone else in the area, but..."

Minato glanced over towards the wooden base, his eyes narrowed. "We'll need to see if we can find the other team that was stationed here before us."

"Sir," we said, then both of us flickered towards the base. We stopped short at the entrance, and exchanged glances.

Together, we slid the door open. There were two hallways immediately before us. "I'll take left."

"Then I'll go right," Kakashi responded.

We split off.

Quietly, I listened for the buzzing sound again. When I had found it, I began to make my way towards it. The coldness lingered in the air, unsettling me. The adrenaline from the battle that had already began to leave me, returned in full force. There was this disgusting feeling growing heavily in my chest, and I felt my heart speed up.

Carefully, I slid the door open to the room, and instantly my hands flew up to my mouth to repress the gag.

Horrible, bitter, sour, and grotesque stench overwhelmed my senses. Instinctive tears pricked at my eyes, and I fumbled desperately for my breather-mask in my pack. I had to withdraw my hands, holding my breath, as I quickly put it on. Taking a deep breath as the mask filtered the air—though there was still a faint smell of the wretched stuff—I surveyed the room.

I found their bodies.

It was a team of Genin, of _children_ , and their instructor.

I knew them.

Or at least, I had seen them in a few of my joint class sessions. These fresh Genin. Two boys, and one girl. The girl was an Inuzuka, Momo. She was always loud in class, but she meant well. Her ninken, her puppy, would always trail behind her silently. She was a pretty thing with big brown eyes, and short curly black hair. The boys were twins from the Aburame clan Shida, and Shimo. Like so many of their clan, they chose to wear sunglasses to shield their eyes, and wore large—too large for their small stature—jackets with their hood pulled up. They were always quiet and kept to themselves, but they were _always_ willing to help.

I didn't recognize the Jōnin instructor. A younger woman with long gray hair.

Ten. The Genin were ten.

They lived for ten years.

And then they met _this_ fate.

Embers were curdling in the pit of my stomach, as I continued to stare at them.

If I had not seen them before, if I had not memorized their faces to their names before, if I had not known them before, I would not have recognized them for anything more than husks.

The girl was bound to a chair, still, and her eyes were empty sockets, blood dried from onto her face. Her lower jaw was missing, and her clothes were drenched in her own blood. There were countless scratches covering her arms and legs, and an old bruise rested on her forehead.

At her feet, still bound, was a mass of fur that had been beaten beyond recognition.

The embers burned, as if a fan was blowing on them, _urging_ them.

Shida and Shimo were on opposite sides of the room, laying down. Shimo was gutted, and nailed to the floor. Organs spilled out of his chest and stomach, all squashed together. His empty eye sockets stared back at me lifelessly, and his face was twisted into unimaginable pain.

Shida, on the opposite side, was in a mimicking position, only his hands were badly burned.

Fire raged through me, burning me from the inside out. I was rocking onto the heels of my feet, teetering. The Jōnin was in the corner, naked, bound, and covered in burns. Her face was so badly burnt, the majority of her skin and muscles had fallen off, leaving nothing, but charred bone.

The buzzing sound was impossibly loud, and it was largely due to the fact of the hundreds of flies and larvae covering their corpses— _eating_ them.

My hands were shaking, and I swallowed back the bile. The stench of death overwhelmed my nostrils. Disgust and hatred swelled inside of me, causing goosebumps to rise and unsettling chills to rush down me. My skin felt electrified, and despite the coldness that had wrapped around me, there was a blazing hot anger swirling inside of me.

Children.

_Children._

They were _ten fucking years old._

They were _tortured_ to death.

Horrible.

_Horrible._

What a God-awful world.

I knew this was a war, _but you don't just do this kind of thing._

And Naruto wanted to fight _for_ this war? For these kinds of... of... _humans_?

No.

 _Absolutely not_.

Disgusting.

_Disgusting._

A shudder raced through me

I felt someone approach behind me, and suddenly hands were placed over my eyes, covering the scene. I gently pulled back, and the door closed shut behind me. The hands dropped away, and I turned back to Kakashi who was eyeing me. "We found them. So let's tell Sensei."

I swallowed. "Right."

Horriblehorrible _horrible_. Wrongwrong _wrong_. Sicksick _sick_.

Swallowing roughly, I turned on my heel and walked out of the room.

This world was wrong.

I _needed_ to fix it.

My hands clenched into fists.


	10. Obito

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **_"Ever on and on, I continue circling with nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony -_ **

**_'til slowly I forget and my heart starts vanishing and suddenly I see that I can't break free - "_ **

**_\- Bad Apple_ **

_"Such a soft rain," Grandmother mused._

_I did not respond._

_"A rainy day, for a rainy heart," she whispered. "Precious little sapling, do you hate her?"_

_I closed my eyes._

_"She will always love you, my dear, dear, girl."_

_I held my tongue._

_"Do not hate her for this choice. Promise me, Naa-chan..."_

_I would make no such promises._

_"Tsunade will be back..."_

_I opened my eyes._

_"Tsunade is dead," I whispered. "She is dead to this family. She is dead to me."_

_This time, it was Grandmother who did not respond._

_. . ._

_. ._

_._

Years had passed.

The war continued to rage on, and Kakashi and I had been sent out to the frontlines on multiple occasions (or I suppose, more accurately, we _ended up_ on the frontlines on multiple occasions: either due to us pursuing an enemy, or an enemy pursuing _us_ ). We were both ten years old now, and we had both received battlefield promotions due to our efforts. While technically we were Chūnin, we still had to undergo the exams when it was time for them to be held in Konoha again in order to _officially_ be Chūnin.

The war was savage, and we had witnessed some rather unsettling horrors. If I hadn't already been used to the bloodshed from Madara's influence, I would, most certainly, have been forced to be used it by now.

Most veteran shinobi and kunoichi were rather nonchalant when it came to that sort of thing. It was such a natural occurrence, such a _normal_ thing for them, especially during war times. The majority of them were numb to it, almost detached. It had little to no effect on them, anymore.

A part of me wondered, again, if this was just a biological trait built into them. If, perhaps, their—our—brains were just wired to accept this sort of thing. It would make sense if that was the case, given the history of this world. If we _weren't_ ready to accept this, and if we fought against it... well, we would be driven insane, wouldn't we? It _had_ to be within our very DNA to acknowledge, and not fight against the gore we witness. At least, that was what _I_ rationalized.

Minato and Kakashi seemed to confirm this theory, as neither gave any sort of reaction anymore to witnessing the grotesque horrors of war. Kakashi especially seemed to be rather uncaring towards it. In some ways, he reminded me of how his _canon_ counterpart was during his childhood. However, there were equally as many differences between the two.

For instance, _this_ Kakashi wasn't so hell-bent on the shinobi code. Certainly, he honored it, but perhaps seeing how... distraught... following a similar code had made me... perhaps it _really did_ make him think twice about repeating my mistake. If I wasn't allowed to be so anal about appearances, neither could he, I had also told him many times before. Another key differences was, perhaps, his humor. I wasn't entirely certain if canon!Kakashi had _this_ Kakashi's kind of humor at this point in time, but I doubted it. _This_ Kakashi was, undoubtedly, influenced by my own rather twisted humor.

When it became painfully obvious that I could not hide _all_ aspects of me, I showed a bit more of my true nature throughout the war. Bit, by bit, so no one was overwhelmed by my transformation. Indeed, I had worked it in in such a way it could be interpreted that the _war_ had actually warped my perspective.

For the moment, Kakashi was the only one inside of Konoha that knew that wasn't true.

My own morbid, and frankly put, _sick_ humor was accepted by my loved ones relatively easily. I wouldn't have been the first rather... twisted... kunoichi Konoha had produced, after all. And I certainly wouldn't be the last.

Mind you, I was still pleasant and polite overall. I _was_ still the Senju Heiress (soon to be Head when I achieved the rank of Jōnin), and as such I _did_ still have _some_ appearance to keep up to the public. However, by revealing my sense of humor, it allowed some... reprieve. Keeping my mask in Konoha was exceedingly easier than prior, and thankfully with the added benefit of the war going on (and thus the excuse that it was the _war's_ influence for my humor) the change was easily accepted.

Minato had officially moved in with Kushina, and myself. On multiple occasions I had offered to move out to give the two some privacy, but each time I was rejected (and in some instances Kushina threatened to break my legs if I so much as _thought_ of running away). Kakashi had, also, been forced to move in with us, and I used my funds (much to Kushina's distaste) to expand the apartment and give Kakashi his own room. Kakashi, also, tried leaving on several occasions, but each time he was forcibly dragged back by Minato or Kushina, both adults citing that despite the fact that we were both shinobi of Konoha (and trained killers) they did not want us living on our own.

Annoying, given that Kakashi and I were both mentally mature enough to handle living on our own just fine (and introverted enough that we would actually appreciate it a lot more), but whatever. Until I was a Jōnin, or reached the age of sixteen, I could still be counted as a minor in the village.

Madara and I had been working quite effectively throughout the years, as well. Many times I had gone out in disguise and carried out missions for him. Most of them was just systemically weakening our enemies' power (especially Orochimaru). For the most part, though, Madara trained me to mimic him perfectly. I wouldn't be able to fully master this copying until _after_ puberty hit me (as puberty would, undoubtedly, change my voice, thus making it harder to mimic his honey-smooth, deep, voice. Even if I did with the luxury of having the capabilities of a wooden-henge).

Dare I say it, but in actuality... the past years had almost been... _normal_. The more I saw the horrors of the war, the more determined I was that Madara was right. There was something awfully wrong about this world, but it seemed as though only Madara and I could see it.

It was up to us to fix this.

And fix it, we would.

But I digress: my life had fallen into a rather gruesome routine. Fight in the war, come back and rest for about a week (and carry about missions for Madara in the moonlight during this week, of course), then be kicked out again. Rinse and repeat.

Danzō did not try to contact me again throughout the war, and Zetsu always gave me a warning whenever Orochimaru neared me (so I was able to successfully avoid him). Not that he was ever in the village for long. For the moment Orochimaru was still a _loyal_ Sannin to Konoha, and was frequently sent out on long-term missions to help against the war.

It was only on this particular day that our routine ended.

"What?" I asked.

"You sound so surprised," Minato teased me.

"Of course she would be—I am, too," Kakashi snapped, folding his arms across his chest. "Just what the hell do you mean we're getting a new teammate? We don't need another teammate; we're doing fine with just us."

"Don't be so antisocial," I scolded Kakashi. He awarded me with an irritable look. I ignored the look and cocked my head. "Minato-sensei... I'm not surprised about receiving the new member, I'm surprised that you are only telling us this _now_... Honestly, how did you expect us to take it when you just take us to our favorite training grounds, and then tell us we're meeting a new team member any minute?"

Minato grinned. "Well, I thought Kakashi might try to find some excuse to not show up and introduce himself properly, _and politely_ , to our new teammate if I gave him a warning. This way he has no warning."

I resisted the urge to pout. "... But you couldn't tell _me_...?"

"You would tell Kakashi," Minato dismissed.

"What about all your lectures about teamwork? How can you call this teamwork if you don't trust us to behave like mature individuals," I protested.

"Because I know you," Minato said simply, still smiling.

"Hate you," Kakashi informed him.

"I know," Minato chirped. "Now he should be here any second now."

Kakashi glowered loathingly at Minato. "This is just _great_. We get back from a two-week long patrol mission, and get saddled with a newbie we have to train within a week before dragging them off to the frontlines with us. He'll be a damn deadweight."

" _Actually_ ," Minato said carefully, "seeing how we officially have our third member, we are finally, _technically_ a Genin team now."

I gave Minato a horrified look. " _Genin?!_ We're _Chūnin!_ We killed a lot of assholes to get that rank, you know."

Minato winced. "I... am aware. However, until everyone in the team has been promoted to the rank of Chūnin or above, this will remain as a Genin squad."

Kakashi snorted in disgust. "Great. So we get to _babysit_."

"Please tell us that he graduated top of his class, at least," I pleaded.

"Ah, actually... well, that would be over stacking the team. Hokage-sama thought it would be best if we took on the dead-last."

Silence descended upon us, as Kakashi and I digested this information.

"Fuck," Kakashi summed up nicely.

"Language," Minato chided. "I know this may seem like a lot to take in right now, but I am asking, both as your sensei and your friend, that you welcome our new comrade. He is new, yes, but both of you were new once, too."

"Yeah, when we were _four_ ," Kakashi grumbled.

"Not everyone is a prodigy," I pointed out, then sighed. "So how long do we have to train him until we're shipped out again?"

"Until after the exams," Minato said, "which is in spring."

We both froze at that.

" _What,_ " Kakashi demanded. "You—you can't do that. We're needed _out there_."

I, on the other hand, fell quiet. It didn't bother me _too_ much to have this change. On one hand, I was annoyed that I couldn't assist my comrades in the war effort, but on the other hand it would give me more time to spend with Madara. _And_ given how when our plan took place _all_ deaths and horrors would be null... Well, it didn't really matter that much, did it?

Minato shook his head. "Ordinarily neither of you would have been sent out so soon to begin with, but it was difficult, then. We're at a rather stable point in the war, thanks to our alliance with Sunagakure, to give us some breathing room. Hokage-sama thought it would be best to retract all Genin teams to give them time to properly prepare, and as we are, technically, a Genin team now..."

"We understand," I said, giving Kakashi a stern look. He still looked sore, but remained quiet. "When will our new comrade show up?"

Minato gave a fleeting frown. "He actually should have been here by now..."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The sun was bright that day, with many large white clouds and a pretty blue sky. Our training ground was a large grassy field, dubbed training ground three, that was surrounded by small (in comparison to the trees outside of the village) bustling green trees. There were three wooden stumps lined up neatly on one side of the field (they were as tall as me) that served as training posts. On the opposite end of the field was a large stream that ran through this training ground, all the way to training ground thirty-seven (which was just a giant pond, really).

Our new teammate came stumbling into the field, out of breath. Immediately, Kakashi and I recognized him from our first class.

"You're late, Obito!" Kakashi snapped, his arms still folded across his chest. Kakashi's outfit had changed little over the years. He still wore a dark blue t-shirt with a collar that doubled as mask to cover the lower half of his face. He also wore separate sleeves that ended just below his t-shirt sleeves, and doubled as gloves. There were armor plates along his forearm, serving as an arm guard. He had a tanto on his back, with brown, leather straps that made an x in the front being used to hold the tanto in place. He still wore matching blue shinobi pants, and sandals.

I, also, had changed little about my appearance. My wild hair was a bit longer, falling at my shoulders, and ticking them on occasion. I had a sleeveless black shirt that had an orange collar hooked around my neck to keep it in place. It kept my shoulders mostly bare. I wore an orange squort with black leggings that ended a little past my knees. The squort's sides were slit open to add more maneuverability. I also had long black gloves that went up past my below, with orange straps tied wrapped around them in a criss-cross fashion. The gloves were fingerless. I wore standard, short black boots.

And although no one could see, I also had some orange toe-socks with tiny little bat prints on them.

... They were a gift from Kushina.

In fact, I would have gone with an almost entirely black outfit, but Kushina was adamant about adding some color to it. After a very long argument with her, I finally gave up, threw my hands in the air and shouted, _Fine! Pick a squort out for me or something!_

I now knew where Naruto got his love of orange from.

Not that I minded. I liked orange well enough.

Like Kakashi, I wore my _hitai_ - _ate_ around my forehead (though the band was no longer blue, and replaced with an orange cloth).

Minato wore his same, standard, Jōnin-attire.

He had a hand place on his hip, and with his other hand he gestured to Obito. "You're finally here... You must be Obito."

Obito now wore a thick blue jacket with orange lining and an orange collar. His _hitai-ate_ was tied around his forehead, but he had thick orange goggles over his eyes for the moment. Underneath his jacket was a black shirt, and he wore standard blue shinobi pants.

"You're really late," Kakashi muttered.

"We already know each other, so why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself," Minato chirped.

Obito gave a crooked, confident smile. He held up his left hand in a fist, then stuck out his thumb and pointed at himself. "I'm going to be the next Hokage! My name's Uchiha Obito. For my Great Stone Face make sure my trademark goggles and Sharingan are nicely carved out, so I can glare over the neighboring lands!"

Kakashi suddenly looked very tired, and slapped his left hand against his face, covering his eyes. I resisted the urge to sigh. Everything about Obito was very... loud.

"... I'll scare the hell out of them with my Sharingan stare and no one will dare attack our village—"

"Rattle off your instructions _after_ you become the Hokage, and have you even activated your Sharingan?!" Kakashi interrupted hotly. "Besides, how can they carve the Sharingan if you're wearing goggles?"

"They can carve it out over my goggles," Obito retorted loudly.

"That's stupid—it'll look like your eyeballs are popping out."

Obito opened his mouth to say something else, but Minato, thankfully, intervened. "Anyway, I'm happy that someone on this team shares my dream. These two are no fun. I'm Minato. From today, I'll be your sensei. I'm glad to meet you."

Obito beamed, and held up a thumbs-up. "Yeah!"

Minato gestured for Obito to come towards us, and he and Obito swapped places. "All right, let's have our first practice together. In this training session, I want to see your teamwork. Take these two bells away from me, and practice will be over."

Kakashi's eyes widened with realization. "Wait... two..."

"Huh?" Obito blinked. Kakashi gave him an annoyed look, and the Uchiha returned it.

"I see how it is, Sensei," I mocked. "Pulling _that_ mean trick on us? I thought you loved us."

"What do you mean?" Obito questioned. Kakashi awarded him with _another_ irritated look—as if he thought the question was stupid (which, in hindsight, he probably did)—and Obito returned with just as much fervor.

"It _means_ only _two_ people can get a bell. One of us will lose."

"Yep!" Minato said, grinning widely. "And... start!"

I watched, disinterestedly, as Kakashi and Obito lunged for Minato. With ease, Minato avoided their attempts. I watched for quite some time, debating how I wanted to go about retrieving a bell. There were many ways. I could convince Kakashi, and Obito to work together with me. Minato was _obviously_ allowing leniency in his skills when he fought against Obito. If he fought against Obito long enough—lured him into a false sense of security—Kakashi and I could deftly pounce on him. I could use my wood-style to limit his mobility severely, and Kakashi could grab the bells in the moment of confusion.

I doubted Minato would resort to using his famous teleportation technique against us, regardless. He didn't want to overwhelm or intimidate our new teammate, by showing how vastly outclassed Obito was.

I could, also, make a clone to fetch Kushina and have her distract him. She would _love_ to join in our little practice, but I had a feeling Minato would show his distaste for my cunning idea in a rather painful way later on.

Many more scenarios played in my mind, before I finally settled on the first one. I raised my hands, converting them into wood and stretching them out to grab Obito and Kakashi. I grabbed Kakashi by the back of his collar, and he shot me a _very_ displeased look, and Obito by the strap of his goggles. With ease, I pulled them back to me and explained my plan.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Well done!" Minato exclaimed, as Kakashi tossed me the other bell. I wasted little time in tossing the bell over to Obito.

"There. Now we've all technically captured a bell, and no one loses," I said dryly. I was out of breath, covered in bruises, and just genuinely very tired. Kakashi, and Obito were in no better shape (Obito actually looked worse).

Minato grinned, then glanced over at the setting sun and narrowed his eyes. "I didn't expect us to finish so soon, but it's probably for the best. Kushina-chan will be happy to have us for dinner. Obito-kun, why don't you join us?"

Obito flushed, and panted, "S-Sorry, Minato-sensei, but Kaa-chan is expecting me. Same time tomorrow?"

"Yep," Minato said. "Dismissed!"

Obito gave a sigh, before he started to walk away. The three of us lingered on the grounds for a moment, before Minato cocked his head, giving us a knowing smile. "Don't take too long. I'll tell Kushina-chan that you'll both be late for dinner."

"Thanks, Sensei," Kakashi said. When he had left, Kakashi glanced over at me, smiling tiredly behind his mask. "What do you want to train in today?"

"How about... me kicking your ass?"

"As _if_."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Obito, huh?" Madara murmured.

"Yes, Madara-sama," I responded, then recognizing his thoughtful look, I inquired, "What's wrong?"

"I believe I want you to fully train him."

My eyes widened in surprise. "E-Excuse me?"

"In order to achieve a high ranking in the village, you will need to be strong. However, Konoha prides itself in their strong _teams_. It would be easier if you had powerful teammates that could properly assist you."

I blinked rapidly. "You... you want me to train Obito, so that way he could be on equal grounds with Kakashi, and I...? You want us to be a strong team... like... _like the Sannin?_ "

Madara smiled. "The Sannin have fallen apart. I think it's time they were replaced. It would be easier to secure a stable, high-ranking position if you had two more powerful shinobi at your back. You would gain more trust if you are presented in a light that proves you work well with others—or at least with your team. Besides, if Obito is too weak, you will never be able to advance to more powerful, and influential missions with him on your team."

"Th-That's true," I admitted. "We would only be limited to missions that suited our team's capability. I wouldn't really be able to make much of a name for myself if we're constantly shoved aside. Kakashi only became renowned _after_ he went solo, and didn't have anyone holding him back."

"Exactly. For our purposes, it would be best if you trained Obito quickly."

"But... isn't it bad if we give Konoha more powerful resources?"

Madara awarded me with another smile. "They are only powerful if we cannot defeat them. By training these resources—having hands-on work with them—you will garner _all_ of their weaknesses. They will trust you. Open up to you. And be vulnerable to you when the time comes. Konoha will create their own powerful resources one way or another. This way, _we_ have a say on _what_ those resources are, as well as manipulate them. _We_ come out on top in the end."

"Yes, Madara-sama. What training regime would you advise?"

"He needs to awaken his Sharingan, first of all. To do this, he must trigger his fight or flight response, in essence. The Sharingan is awakened when the body is flooded with enough hormones and adrenaline, along with the flight or fight response. This is why, in most cases, the Sharingan is awakened in very difficult battles. Just spar against him harshly, and when he is at his end, pour in the killer intent. That should do the trick."

"And then?"

Madara chuckled. "I think you know where to take it after that."

I smiled darkly. "Very well, Madara-sama."

"Now why don't you return early and see to that? Tomorrow night, I have another task I want you to carry out."

I bowed. "Yes, Madara-sama."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The Uchiha compound wasn't hard to find. Tracking down Obito in said compound, however, was another story. Thankfully, it was fairly late at night and as such, the majority of the streets were empty and not a lot of people were in my way.

I felt my chakra brush against another's signature as I tried to sense where Obito's chakra was. The signature brushed back, and soon there was a curious young Uchiha flickering in front of me. He wore the police uniform, and had long black hair pulled into a low pony tail. "May I help you, Senju-hime?"

I smiled politely. "I'm looking for my new teammate, Uchiha Obito. There has been a change in plans and I would like to inform him before it gets too late."

"I see. I will escort you to him, then," the Uchiha responded.

"Thank you, Uchiha-san."

The Uchiha lead me through the numerous streets of the vast compound—it was almost like a maze, really—before he finally stopped before a lone, tall, house. "This is where your teammate lives."

"Thank you for showing me, Uchiha-san," I repeated. The house was tall, and it seemed almost crooked, but still beautiful. There was a fence out front—taller than me—that ran in front of all the nearby houses. The house was squashed in between two others.

The gate in front was black iron, and I easily pushed it open. There was a small rock pathway that lead to the door, and a beautiful garden in front. There were lights on in the house, and I was very grateful for that. I doubted his family would take kindly to being woken up just so I could kidnap their son.

Quietly, I approached the front door and rapped my knuckles against it.

There was a rustle inside, and muffled voices. Then the door swung open and a pajama-dressed Obito stood there. When he saw me, his cheeks turned red in sheepish embarrassment. "N-Naasica-chan? What are you doing here?"

I smiled. "I was hoping you could join me for a quick session."

" _Now_?"

I leaned closer to him, my smile twisting into something a lot less nice. "I know how to awaken your Sharingan."

Obito's eyes widened. "... Give me a minute to change. Kaa-chan I gotta to, uh, help my teammate. Be right back!"

"What?" hollered a woman further in the house. "At _this_ hour?"

"I am sorry, Uchiha-san," I called out, "but I am uncertain what Minato-sensei has planned for us tomorrow, or the rest of the week. I don't know when else we'll be able to do this."

A willowy figure appeared in the hallway, as Obito scrambled past her and up some stairs. She had long curly brown hair, and big doe-like eyes. She was wearing a simple blue dress with an orange apron that had strawberries on it. She smiled at me. "Oh. You must me Senju Naasica?"

I bowed. "I am. I am sorry for intruding—"

She waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. I remember staying up at all late hours when I was younger, so determined to perfect my genjutsu."

"You are a genjutsu specialist?"

She laughed lightly. "I am. I'm sorry, how rude of me. You may call me Kiko."

"A pleasure, Kiko-san. Please just call me Naasica."

"Likewise, Naasica-chan."

Obito stumbled down the stairs, his jacket missing, but his goggles sitting square on top of his head. His eyes were lit up. "Ready?"

"Indeed."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"You... you really think you can awaken my Sharingan?" Obito asked.

"Mm-hmm," I responded.

It was late at night, and I had guided Obito to a deserted training ground. I knew no one would be around for quite some time. Obito was smiling brightly at me. "Alright. So what do I have to do?"

"The Sharingan is only awakened if you survive what _would_ be a killing blow," I lied easily. "So you need to... _not_... die."

"Not die?" Obito asked, then he gasped and lurched out of the way when I leapt towards him, my left hand hardened into a wooden dagger. I jabbed at where he once was, before I spun on my heel and lunged towards him again. "What are you doing?!"

"Trying to kill you, _obviously_ ," I giggled, going ahead and starting to leak killer intent. Naturally, I didn't release _all_ my bloodlust, nor did I go all out against him. Then he really _would_ have been dead, and that would have been an annoyance.

"S-Stop it. This isn't funny, Naasica," Obito said, but he quickly cut himself off when my right foot connected against the side of his head. He went spiraling away and crashed into a nearby tree, but I was already upon him.

"Yes it is," I laughed. "Go ahead and try to scream, Obito. _No one is coming for you_."

Obito scrambled up and tried to run away. "I don't want to have to fight you, so stop this."

"You wouldn't be able to get a scratch on me," I taunted. Then, grinning maliciously, I slammed the palm of my hands into the ground. Trees erupted all around Obito, and the branches snapped out, like sharp spikes at him. Of course, I didn't have them stab _all_ the way through him, but I certainly cut him up quite a bit.

Withdrawing my hands from the ground, I flickered over to Obito, peering at his _very_ bloody form. He was staring at me with wide, wide eyes, fear sparking inside of them. I doubled my killer intent, and smiled coldly at him. "I guess you won't get your Sharingan, after all. You'll be dead with _this_ blow—"

He sucked in a sharp breath, as I raised my left hand again. Suddenly, a red gleam shone in his eyes.

Immediately, I dismissed the trees, and reverted my hand back to normal. "There you go."

Obito dropped down to his knees, wheezing, and staring up at me. "What... the... fuck."

"Come on, let's get you to the hospital," I chirped, grabbing his arm and lifting him up.

He continued to stare at me. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?!"

"I got you your Sharingan, didn't I? It's really only triggered in very stressful situations, so... Sorry, but it had to be done."

"A little warning would have been nice!" Obito cried out, then winced.

"Then you wouldn't have believed me," I dismissed. "Trust me. This way really was for the best."

_And it was fun._

I didn't voice that little tidbit, though.

Obito gave me an irritated look, and I smiled warmly at him. "I'm sorry for being so rough, Obito-kun. I hope you'll still be okay to train with me."

Obito grumbled, "I don't like it, but you _do_ get results done."

"Mm-hmm. So after our team meeting, go ahead and stay after and we'll train for a couple hours. I have a very good training regime that works _wonders_. Although... it _is_ a teeny-weeny bit hard."

Obito awarded me a reluctant look. "What is it?"

_The training regime Madara used for me when I was getting started._

"Just a routine I had to follow when I was beginning my kunoichi career."

"Okay," Obito said, sighing with relief. "That doesn't sound _too_ hard."

I laughed at that.

_Oh, this is going to be f-u-n._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The following day, Minato assigned us a couple D-Ranks to give us time to recuperate from last night (as Obito still seemed battered—Obito wisely did not mention that he was sore because I had attempted to kill him. While he was _thrilled_ he obtained his Sharingan, I made him promise from telling anyone that _I_ had given it to him, and that he _instead_ awoken it on his own _after_ our session last night. Which was possible. Life-or-death scenarios weren't the _only_ ways to awaken the Sharingan. Just the easiest). We finished roughly in the afternoon, and then Minato headed off to be with Kushina.

"Alright, so where would you like to train today, Naasica?" Kakashi asked, glancing over at me once he had left.

I shook my head, smiling. "Today I'm going to be training Obito-kun."

Kakashi stared at me. "What."

"It'll be fun," I said, giggling with anticipation.

"Yeah," Obito agreed, nodding his head.

Kakashi folded his arms. "You can't train Obito."

"Why not?"

"He's too much of an idiot for you take on by yourself," Kakashi informed me.

"Hey!" Obito protested.

I smiled coyly. "So would you like to help? The two of us could get some training done while Obito goes through the exercises and warmups I have planned."

Kakashi shrugged. "It looks like I'll have to."

" _Hey_!"

"Thanks, Kakashi," I said. "I think the sooner we get Obito up to our level—no offense, Obito-kun!—the better."

"I still take offense to that," Obito sighed.

I smiled sheepishly.

Kakashi sighed. "... I _guess_ we'll have a more effective... _team_... if we train him."

"A team is only as strong as its weakest link," I agreed. "No offense."

"Again: I still take offense to that."

Kakashi, however, just gave a short laugh. "... Alright. I'm in. Let's bring him up to speed."

"Ha," Obito scoffed. "With my Sharingan, I'll surpass you two in no time."

 _With your Sharingan, your ninjutsu, and taijutsu will indeed catch up to our level in little time. I give it a month, perhaps, with this training routine. However, your reserves, physical strength, and other essential basic skills will take longer than that to reach our levels. This routine will set you on the right path, and I figure by the time the Chūnin Exams come around, you will be_ more _than ready._

_I will not fail this task, I have been given. Not only because Madara-sama gave this task to me, but because you are now my teammate._

_I know I will come to grow fond of you, and when that happens, I would be_ very _displeased should something unsavory happen to you. I will want you to protect yourself. Moreover, I want this_ team _to succeed._

_To be the next Sannin..._

_What a goal._

"Maybe," I allowed. "For the moment, go ahead and put this blindfold on."

"... What," Obito deadpanned, while Kakashi snickered.

I giggled, recalling all the times Madara had me run barefoot in the cave, through obstacles, completely blind. "Oh, _trust me_... this is going to be an exercise you _need_ to get down."

 _And I_ really _want to see someone_ else _suffer through that hellish routine._

My giggles grew a bit louder, and I struggled to repress them.

Obito was suddenly giving me a _very_ worried look.


	11. 5:5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Countenanceabyss on deviantART created the fanart.

_**"I am slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity with nothing, but my pain and the paralyzing agony -** _

_**to tell me who I am, who I was, uncertainty enveloping my mind 'til I can't break free – "** _

_**\- Bad Apple** _

" _Chakra... chains?" I repeated the word with a level of uncertainty._

" _Mm-hmm," Grandmother hummed. "It is something unique to Uzumaki women. Due to your heritage being over half Uzumaki—three quarters—and you are a woman, you will be able to utilize this ability."_

" _I have to be a woman to use chakra chains?"_

" _Yes. When you undergo your first..." Grandmother's smile became a bit more bemused at her next words, "_ womanly experience _it will mean that your chakra has reached a certain level of maturity required to use the chains."_

" _Womanly experience?"_

_Grandmother laughed. "Something you will one day partake in once a month."_

_My stomach dropped. "Oh."_

Why couldn't I have been a _boy_ this time?

. . .

. .

.

I fingered the shuriken in my hands before I let out another sharp whistle. Obito surged a little ways in front of me, scrambling to get away. He was blindfolded, with his jacket discarded and folded neatly against a tree. Beside the jacket was a first aid kit.

He was covered in scratches—all shallow, I made sure of that—and he shook a bit on his feet. We were nearing the end of this particular training session—as we would soon lose all light—and I knew he was well past his physical point. He was running on will-power alone at this point.

Something that might have impressed me, once upon a time. But, it didn't.

It was expected of him.

He was battered and bruised from my relentless training session. On some days, Kakashi or I even had to carry him home. Yet, he always came back for more. Even if the sessions were harsh, they fruited _obvious_ progress.

This one, for example, was a variation of the blind-folded running. It harnessed his reaction times, instincts, and evasiveness. I would let out a sharp whistle—giving him one chance to immediately assess where my location was and prepare for an attack from that angle—before launching a shuriken at him. I never aimed for vital spots, but rather only to graze him. Perhaps when he learned to, one day, sense chakra I would no longer need to use sound to notify him, but that day would not come for quite some time.

He was progressing nicely, able to dodge about half the time. Something that would have been impossible for him a few weeks ago.

It still amazed me how different the bodies in this world worked—the biological traits that differed between a civilian and shinobi. There was a reason why it was so uncommon for a civilian to achieve the shinobi, or kunoichi, title. It wasn't because they lacked the immediate resources at home, so much as given how much time had passed—how many shinobi clans had formed—it became engraved in a shinobi child's genetics. They were faster. Stronger. _Superior_.

Even our regenerative rate was greater. While I healed the fastest on our team, Obito was close behind. Madara once remarked that the Uchihas had naturally fast chakra-replenishing genes, and could heal almost as fast as an Uzumaki.

It was amazing to see Obito go home one night, limping and covered in bandages, only to return in the morning raring to go with only a couple bandages left.

I hurled the shuriken at him, and Obito tensed before side-stepping it.

It thunked harshly against a nearby tree instead.

I clapped my hands. "Very good, Obito-kun. I think we're done for the day."

Obito wasted little time in ripping his blind-fold off and collapsing to his knees, wheezing.

"Th-Thanks, Oni-hime," Obito gasped.

When Obito had accidentally called me _Oni-hime_ , or _Demon-princess_ , first, I was torn between annoyance and amusement. When he realized he had let it slip out, he looked so petrified of what I might do to him that he almost cried in relief when I just giggled at him.

Kakashi, who had been watching the last bit of the training session from the trees, leapt down and grabbed the first aid kit. I was usually able to adjust the training regime so I only had to watch and participate with Obito half the time. The other half, I usually focused on my own training with Kakashi.

"You're getting better," I said, smiling pleasantly at Obito.

Obito preened at the praise. "Thanks, Oni-hime."

"It's been a little over a month since you started training him, _of course_ he would show improvement," Kakashi dismissed.

"I think he's ready to join _our_ sessions, Kakashi," I said. Obito's eyes lit up, while Kakashi awarded me with a mildly irritated glare.

"You really think so? You think I've caught up?" Obito asked excitedly.

"Caught up? Goodness no," I laughed, momentarily delighting in his crestfallen look, "Another month of intense physical training, and a continuation of your ninjutsu, and you _might_ catch up to us. Assuming we have _relaxed_ training sessions for that month and wait for you."

At Obito's crestfallen gaze, Kakashi snorted. "We've been doing this a lot longer than you, Obito. You're progressing just fine."

Again, Obito's eyes lit up, and I shot Kakashi a sly smile. He glared at me in return.

Kakashi and Obito hadn't entirely warmed up to one another, but after multiple threats from me that if they couldn't get along _I would make them get along_ , they seemed to be putting an actual effort into it. I think it helped that Kakashi was able to, somewhat, take out his frustrations on having to 'babysit' our new teammate through these brutal sessions. I believed it also helped that Obito could, quite clearly, see how much effort we had to put into our own training and had come to appreciate the differences in skills between us.

It certainly didn't hurt that Obito was indeed improving rather rapidly, and was able to hold his own during our sessions with Minato. _That_ was something Kakashi could grudgingly respect.

Although, they still bickered like an old married couple during the missions.

I took the first aid kit from Kakashi's hand and began to apply the ointment to Obito's injuries, and then wrap them in gauze. Obito's cheeks were still flushed happily from Kakashi's earlier compliment, and he was grinning widely.

"Stop smiling like an idiot," Kakashi snapped.

"I can't help it," Obito insisted, then paused. "And I don't smile like an _idiot_."

"Of course not," I responded soothingly.

Obito huffed, while Kakashi snickered.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"I believe it is time I taught you ninjutsu," Madara declared that evening.

Knowing that a lecture was coming, I straightened my posture—any time he would teach something new, he always began with a long-winded lecture, and usually I had to read some texts after our training session that he would assign. Our cave had become filled with stacks of texts, notebooks, scrolls, and other things we had collected for this purpose. There was an entire room dedicated to the notes I had written from the texts, also.

Madara and Zetsu had to expand upon our cave—adding more tunnels and rooms to make room for some of the more... creative training regime. It wasn't difficult to acquire the items we needed, either. Either I stole them with Zetsu, or, if need be, I purchased them with my inheritance.

Dipping my head, I murmured, "What would you like me to learn next, then, Madara-sama?"

"Your control has progressed adequately in the Mouton," Madara began, "and you will continue this progress. As far as Konoha knows, you are incapable of performing any other ninjutsu aside from the Mouton. We will keep it this way.

"Those with the Mouton unintentionally blend their earth and water natured chakra together to create. This process is natural, and very difficult to reverse. However, it is not impossible. As I mentioned to you before, chakra natures are all about ratio of physical and spiritual energy. The ratio cannot exceed a sum of ten without delving into Senjutsu, which is a topic we will cover later. The Mouton uses a ratio of 7:3, with seven being the physical, and three being the spiritual.

"Shinobi and kunoichi learn to control their different natures by rearranging their ratios. They do not consciously know they are doing this, though. I believe the most common way of describing the change in chakra nature is 'by instinct, you follow what your chakra wills'. This is why we have chakra paper—material that is so sensitive to chakra it will react specifically depending on the natural ratio of chakra you have. This is also why the Sharingan is able to copy nearly any ninjutsu. We see the ratio—although we do not recognize it as a ratio—and mimic it.

"Finding the correct ratio for any nature will be a challenge if you are not naturally inclined towards it. This is a common fact. As we train today for you to utilize two natures nearly opposite of your own, you must not forget that. What you are about to begin is something only high-level _Jōnin_ even attempt. As my apprentice, and my tool, though, this is expected of you."

I knew that last bit was as much for him as it was for me.

Madara lifted up his hand towards me. I watched it intently, as it began to glow a dull blue. His chakra wrapped around it, and suddenly a flame appeared in the palm of his hands. "The ratio of physical and spiritual energy for Katon is 3:7, with three being the physical and seven being the spiritual. It is the exact opposite of your Mouton, and will undeniably be the most difficult to master. We will start with it first."

I inwardly winced at that. However, it was to be expected. If I could handle the polar opposite of my natural ratio, I could, theoretically, handle any of the others with much more ease.

"You will find that every person has a chakra network," Madara said. "This chakra network runs along our nervous system and is naked to the invisible eye. Indeed, if you were to cut someone open, you would never see their chakra network. It is not something that is always present, but rather, it is like a system of highways for your chakra to run through.

"Our chakra is formed near our heart. It is there that we create it, and give it a ratio. Some of the more highly attuned sensors would describe it as a second heartbeat. Close your eyes, Naasica, and feel for your source of chakra. Find it. And tell me what ratio it sits at now. That is your lesson for tonight, and your homework, if you do not finish it."

I hesitated. "Madara-sama, didn't you say that my ratio would be 7:3?"

"I said the Mouton's ratio is 7:3," Madara replied.

"And... and my chakra is naturally..." I trailed off, upon realizing that Madara was giving me a taunting look, as if daring me to finish that statement and declare my chakra ratio to be 7:3. I cleared my throat and bowed my head again. "I will search for this ratio, Madara-sama."

"See that you do."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I was not able to identify any sort of ratio that night. When I found my chakra—it was just that.

Chakra.

I could not differentiate between my physical energy and spiritual energy. It was all the same to me—one giant, thrumming blob inside of my chest.

It irritated me to no end that I failed to answer Madara's question that night.

Which probably was why I was still in a sour mood the next day during our missions.

At the end of our missions, when Obito inquired if I would be up for some training, I let out a sigh and said, "Not today. I need to focus on some of my own training. Just follow the regime I gave you, okay?"

Obito looked disappointed. "Yeah, okay."

This made me feel a _tiny_ bit guilty, and I sighed again. "Tomorrow, okay? But I need to figure this out."

Obito smiled at that. "Yeah, okay."

Kakashi glanced over at me. "Do you need help?"

"No. I'll manage on my own."

In spite of me saying that, I still didn't make any progress that night. Or that night after that. Or the night after that. _Or the night after that_.

My frustration at this was reaching new limits when I slammed my left fist against one of the boulders in the cave and it shattered into pieces.

Madara smiled, utterly amused, at me. "This is why I waited so long for to teach you ninjutsu. It's only going to get harder from here."

I resisted the urge to snap at him. I retracted my hand, rubbing at my knuckles. "How did Hashirama even find his ratio? How can _anyone_ find their ratio without a damn Sharingan to see it for them?"

Madara just continued to smile at me, although his eyes took a new, eager gleam to them. As if awaiting for me to say something else—something _more_. Yet, I couldn't think of anything.

Physical energy—what _was_ physical energy, anyway? There was no definition for it in the library—no textbook answer. Was it literally my body? Or was it something more? What was spiritual energy? Was it my soul? Or my mind?

How did this world define those energies? What created them? What got people to say that chakra was the infusion of both of them?

I ran my fingers through my hair and suppressed the desire to groan in annoyance.

"Why don't you head home and sleep on it for now," Madara suggested lightly. "Perhaps it will come to you. And... Naasica... don't come back to me, until you do find the answer."

In spite of the flash of pain I felt, I only bowed in response. "Yes, Madara-sama."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

With a spinning kick, I sent Obito sprawling into the ground. There was a harsh thudding sound as he hit the ground hard enough to make it split. My eyes were narrowed in obvious irritation, and I _knew_ annoyance was rolling off me in dark waves. In spite of Madara's suggestion to rest and sleep over it that night, I hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep.

It disturbed me on many levels on how I hadn't been able to succeed in Madara's task for me. I felt a particularly strong sense of self-loathing and disappointment in myself, which just spurned on my anger.

I detested how I felt like I was failing him—failing _Grandmother_. I had to learn how to use different ninjutsu if I wanted to be successful as Madara's tool. It was of the utmost importance that, while on a mission for him, I did not use Mouton, and that I showed a completely different skill set. That was why I learned two different forms of taijutsu, in the first place! It was why Madara was training me, coaching me, _guiding me_ to mimic him perfectly.

I couldn't fail.

Unable to keep the snarl out of my voice, I snapped, "Get up. The lesson isn't over, yet."

Obito struggled to stand back up. He was crouching, and his arms trembled as he tried to force himself to stand back up. I watched him, with growing frustration, as I realized that he was at his end. If I continued the lesson from here on out, it would be nothing but abuse.

I would _not_ take my anger out on him intentionally.

My hands clenched into fists, and I shook my head. "Enough. It's clear you're done."

"I'm... not..." Obito panted.

"You are," I returned coldly, already turning away to grab the first aid kit. Kakashi beat me to it, and was already kneeling in front of Obito.

Obito bowed his head, and I watched as he seemed to struggle with himself. He was so obvious with his emotions—he was disappointed and angry with himself, not unlike me. He hated being so far behind Kakashi and myself, despite the fact that he had clearly progressed in leaps and bounds and was catching up to us.

Unlike me, though, Obito could afford to remain a bit behind. It was _okay_ if he stayed as he was.

I felt another tick of loathing inside of me, bubbling and boiling in the pit of my stomach. Disgust was overwhelming me, and I had to close my eyes, 'else I would have glared.

Silence fell across the clearing, as Obito and Kakashi worked to patch Obito up. I kept my eyes closed for the most part, trying to suppress my inner turmoil.

I heard Kakashi stand up and move towards me. He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched, my eyes snapping up. "What?"

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked.

Obito stood up, a bit wobbly on his feet, and his brow creased with concern. "Yeah. You've been really upset this week, and you look _really_ tired."

"I'm—" Well, obviously I couldn't say I was _fine_. They wouldn't believe that. "I'm... trying to... figure... something... out."

"That's all?" Obito blurted out. "Like... like you're stuck on a question?"

With a snort. _That's all_? No. That was not all. I _needed_ to answer this question. I couldn't fail Madara, or my Grandmother. I've already done so much, there was _no_ turning back for me. And I _needed_ to continue down this road. I had to fix this world. I had to.

It wasn't right.

It wasn't _fair_.

This war only proved my point.

"It's... very... important to me," I slowly grounded out.

"What's the question?" Kakashi asked softly. "Maybe we can help."

 _I_ highly _doubt it._

I shook my head. "... I need to go. I'll see you two tomorrow."

Then, shrugging Kakashi's hand off my shoulder, I turned and flickered away.

I _really_ needed beat something up.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The following day was a training session with the entire team.

When the session was over—Minato had drilled us in evasion tactics for the day—Kakashi cleared his throat and said, "Sensei?"

Minato smiled warmly. "Yes?"

"Naasica has a question."

I stiffened as Minato turned to glance over at me curiously. "Yes, Naasica-hime?"

"I do not," I hissed out.

"Yeah, you do," Obito dismissed. "It's why you've been so irritable this week."

Minato's eyes lit up. "Is _that_ why? Kushina thought—" He gave a large sigh of relief. "That's... ah, I'm glad that's all that's been bothering you, then. Perhaps I can help?"

In spite of myself, I felt curiously enough to ask, "What did you think was wrong with me?"

Minato's cheeks colored. "Um... Girl... stuff?"

The way he said, so innocently with a tad touch of horror, was greatly amusing to me. I felt my lips twitch upwards. "Not yet, Sensei."

He gave an obvious show of relief. "That's good. That's... that's very good. If, ah, if, um, you ever _do,_ um, I mean, _when_ you do... you can... ah... talk to me... or, if you would p-prefer, Kushina."

I continued to watch Minato fidget nervously, with growing bemusement. He was greatly uncomfortable with this subject, and it looked like it pained him to even think about it. He was like a little boy, really, who had just learned about it in the first place.

Judging from Kakashi's horrified like, and Obito's confused one, I would guess that when _that_ time came, I would find _great_ fun in informing my team. Their reactions was truly priceless, and I relished it.

"I would _love_ to talk to you about it," I purred.

Minato squeaked. "Okay. Sure. Whatever, ah, you want. Whatever makes you happy, and comfortable, ah..."

I giggled.

Minato cleared his throat. "So, um, what was your question?"

I bit my bottom lip, ignoring the rush of self-loathing that re-emerged inside of me. I had momentarily forgotten my irksome mood while Minato struggled with the topic of my first period. It was true that Minato was a bright young man—a prodigy, really. And the fact that he was already so well versed in fūinjutsu implied that he was heavily familiar with all the different forms of chakra—as it was a requirement in order to understand the more advanced material. Or so Kushina informed me. I was still on the basics.

"What... is... chakra?"

Silence met my question.

"Is that all?" Obito demanded. "Everyone knows that—it's the combination of physical and spiritual energy."

"What's physical energy?" I questioned. "What's spiritual? How do we combine the two? _Why_ do we combine the two? What started it? How do we know its physical energy? How do we know it's spiritual?"

"Oh," was all Obito could say.

Kakashi's brow furrowed as he thought over my questions.

Minato, however, just looked thoughtful. "That's a very big question, hime. It might take a while to answer, so why don't we get comfortable?"

My eyes widened. "You... you can actually answer that?"

"Yes," Minato said, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "I wish you would have asked me sooner."

"You and me both," I muttered, flopping down into the grass. I reached into my pack and pulled out a notebook and pen, ready to begin taking notes.

Kakashi and Obito sat on either side of me, Obito looking curiously at my notebook—which was triple encrypted. The first layer with a basic genjutsu, the second with a lock-seal, and thirdly, it was written entirely in French.

One of the benefits of my previous job in my first life was that I was required to learn multiple languages. I traveled frequently, never staying in one place for too long.

I didn't even really have a home.

"Let's start with spiritual energy," Minato began. "Spiritual energy is energy gained from the mind."

"What do you mean? And how do you know?" I asked.

Minato answered, "When you have refined your chakra sensing ability well enough, you can detect the creation of chakra. Our spiritual energy is our essence—it is, in a way, a personification of our mind. I, myself, am able to sense this distinction inside of me. Given you have already displayed a sensitive nature to chakra, I suspect you will be able to detect it, as well."

"How?"

"Close your eyes."

I closed my eyes.

"Don't focus on your chakra," Minato said softly. "Ignore your chakra—that is the end result. I want you to clear your mind. Empty all feelings; all thoughts; all memories. Think of emptiness, of a void, if you must. Let the world melt away from you."

From what Minato was describing, it seemed I needed to go into a deep meditation (something Madara regularly required I do after a particularly difficult night. He said it was key for me to be able to control my emotions). I prepared to emerge myself in the meditation, but I waited for Minato to finish his instructions before doing so.

"When you have reached this, just focus on yourself, and only yourself."

With practiced ease, I allowed myself to slip into a relaxed state, and within minutes, I had reached deep meditation.

When you enter a deep meditation, your body goes numb and your mind goes blank. At times, it can feel like you're floating above warm water, or drifting through a fog. For me, it varied heavily on where I was. Any time I was in the cave—listening to Madara's heartbeat, or the quiet drips of water falling from the stalactite into the pool below—I would always feel as though I was resting atop a warm pool of water, as if I hadn't quite broken the surface of the water, but was just gently resting atop of it. If I meditated in my room with Kushina—who also enjoyed meditation after a hard day—then I was soaring high above the sky, immersed in the clouds.

It was an odd feeling to say the least, but not dislikable.

Once I had reached that familiar state—I was drifting—I began to refocus on myself. I found my heartbeat, listening to it inside of me.

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

It was slow, steady, and relaxed. Madara's heartbeat was normally slow, too. It was irregular at times, though. Sometimes it would take a great pause before continuing, like, _ba... dump. Ba-dump. Ba... dump._

It was a comforting beat to me, one that made me hum along to it when I was certain he wasn't listening to me, or if I was in a particularly bad mood, it would help calm me down.

Listening to my own heartbeat, though, I found that I was mildly disappointed it wasn't like Madara's.

_Find yourself._

I had found myself a couple of times beforehand with deep meditation—mostly just in instances where Madara taught me how to do so. He always stressed the importance of knowing all forms of meditation, and mastering each one.

_Actually, he always stressed mastering any task given to me in all its variations._

Centering myself around my heartbeat, I focused inwardly on myself. In this form of meditation, the best way to describe it, was heightening all of your senses to a new level. You acutely felt every inch of you touching something, every smell, every sound, _everything._

It was a sensation unlike anything I had experienced in my prior life—I suppose it was the antonym for being drunk, though. Intoxicated and wasted, everything seemed dull, fuzzy, and out of focus. As if stepping outside of your body, almost. In this form, though, you were highly aware of your body and anything that touched it.

I could feel my chakra inside of me—this warm, yet cold at the same time, mess next to my heart. I ignored it. I continued to focus my attention on different areas from my body, trying to discern any sort of differences between this body and my previous body. As I had never done this sort of deep meditation in my first life, it leaned more on the difficult side than what I would have liked.

And, yet...

_Mmmmm._

There was... _something_.

No, no, there was... _somethings_.

All around my body was this _hum._ So soft, so quiet, and so, very, very gentle, I would have never noticed it if I had not been looking for it. It wrapped around my body—both inside and out. It felt as though it _was_ my body, yet it was not. It was foreign, and different, yet familiar. It reminded me almost of the earth—it was sturdy, solid, and completely set.

Something so minute, I hadn't noticed it until now.

The other thing, however, was this gentle _husssh_ inside of me. It didn't quite start in my head, yet that was where I felt it the most. Like a cool summer breeze on a hot day, it danced inside of my head, completely intangible like the air.

This discovery—this realization—startled me enough that I jerked, and my concentration was broken.

My eyes were wide, as Obito, and Kakashi stared at me curiously and Minato smiled. "You felt it."

"What the _hell_ are those?" I demanded.

"Ah, you found your physical energy, too, didn't you?" Minato asked excitedly. "That's good, that's very good. Your spiritual energy originates from your mind—it's wild, free, and intangible. Or at least, that's the impression you get from it, isn't it?"

I hesitated, recalling that... that... weird... _hush_. "Y-Yeah."

"And your physical energy... it's your entire body," Minato explained. "It's in your very cells. It _feels_ tangible, and strong, doesn't it?"

Thinking about that humming, I answered, "Yes..."

"That's how we know what chakra is," Minato said. "When our senses have become developed enough, and we can meditate well enough, we can actually _feel_ it being created. The use of chakra is innate—the creation of chakra is purely instinctual and we all do it naturally. We need chakra to live. We call it spiritual and physical energy because... what else can we call it? Perhaps there are better, proper terms for it that have long ago since been lost to us, but spiritual and physical seem to fit it just fine. Don't you think?"

"That... that is kind of the impression I got from them, yes."

Minato smiled. "Exactly. There is a saying, ' _If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess Earth, run through the field and seek strength._ ' What it means, if you do not possess a strong mind, you should study. If you do not hold a strong body, you should train. This is because our physical and spiritual energy grow directly proportional to our mind and our body. This is one of the reasons why civilians have so little chakra—discounting the fact they do not train in chakra. Their bodies are not nearly as fit, or developed for the use of ninjutsu as shinobi and kunoichi are."

Minato patiently waited for me to finish writing all of this down. When I was done, I eagerly closed my book and promptly threw my arms around him. "Thank you _so_ much, Minato-sensei."

I kissed his cheek, and Minato laughed lightly. Then, turning to Kakashi, I threw myself at him and kissed his cheek, as well. Kakashi froze, stiff as a board, and his face began to turn a bright red. Releasing him, I mimicked my actions to Obito, whose face also turned bright red, although he returned my hug and attempted to stammer out a sentence.

"Thank you both, _so_ much," I told Obito and Kakashi, pulling away from the two of them and bowing. "I should have asked for your help sooner, and I am _sincerely_ sorry I have been so grumpy this week."

"I-It's f-fine," Obito stumbled, his face as red as a beat. "Th-That's what teammates a-are for, yeah?"

"Y-Yeah," Kakashi managed, pointedly looking away from me, and folding his arms across his chest.

Minato laughed at the two.

I positively beamed at them.

Now that I could differentiate what physical and spiritual energy was inside of me...

_I can see Madara-sama tonight!  
_

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"5:5," I declared that night to Madara. "My chakra in its natural state, before I even begin to use it, has a ratio of 5:5."

Madara smirked at me. "Correct. This is true for every human being. Our chakra rests at a perfect balanced ratio until we begin to manipulate it. I take it you are now able to differentiate your charka from both physical and spiritual energy."

"Yes," I informed him.

"Very good," Madara praised me—causing my heart to flutter, and my cheeks to flush pleasantly—as he turned away. "Now you must learn to manipulate these energies. This will take time, and practice. I do not expect you to master it for a month, at least."

"Yes, Madara-sama," I said eagerly.


	12. War and Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art used was created by TheDarkLordCreator on deviantART.

_**And maybe it's a dream; maybe nothing else is real?** _

_**But, it wouldn't mean a thing if I told you how I feel.** _

_**So I'm tired of all the pain, of the misery inside -** _

_**and I wish that I could live, feeling nothing, but the night.** _

_**You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go -** _

_**but, I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know.** _

_**-Bad Apple** _

" _Well done, well done!" Tsunade laughed._

_I giggled with glee, pride blooming inside of me. Tsunade beamed at me, picking me up and beginning to twirl me around._

" _I'm so proud of you, little Naa-chan! So proud!"_

...

_.._

_._

Warmth surrounded me. Soft, plush, blankets were wrapped tightly around me. They cocooned me, and swaddled me in a familiar warmth. Sunlight filtered in from the window beside my bed, and a cool breeze drifted in through it, gently lifting the curtains and swaying them.

I watched the curtains dance in the breeze with narrowed, lazy eyes. It was the first morning in a long while that I had been permitted to sleep in. There was no training, nor any missions awaiting me. Madara had given me the night off, as well, citing that I needed to rest.

He said that I was progressing well.

I suppose I was.

A couple more months had passed since I had begun training with chakra ratio. Since then, I had learned a handful of katon jutsus, and one futon. They were all small utility jutsus classed as D, or C. None of them would be the sort I would use often in battle, if at all. Ever still, it was important I knew them, for not only they could still prove useful, but I also needed to be comfortable and familiar with drawing upon the foreign natures.

I stretched out slowly in my bed, my nose twitching from another cool breeze.

Summer was coming to a close soon, and fall would be greeting us again. The trees were already losing their leaves and turning golden. It turned the village into a pretty sight when the sunset's orange-ish glow bounced off of them, seemingly setting them ablaze.

With much reluctance, I sat up and at a lackadaisical pace, I got out of bed.

Scratching my back, I pulled down my black pajama shirt, and then pulled up my fluffy orange long pajama pants. I slipped on my slippers, and headed down the hall.

Ahead of me, at the end of the hall, the door opened, and a cleaned up Kakashi stepped out.

I raised my eyebrow. "Why are you up?"

"Why are _you_?" Kakashi returned. "It's barely passed noon."

"Is it?" I mused. "Then I suppose I'll just grab something to eat and head back to bed."

"No," Kakashi said quickly, then stopped himself. He cleared his throat. "It's been a while since we got a break. Instead of wasting it with sleep, why not...?"

"Sleeping a day away is not wasting it," I corrected. "And why not what? Train? No, thank you. This is our _day off_. As in: _rest our bodies_."

Kakashi flushed. "I wasn't going to say train. I was just suggesting we... go... out?"

"Why do you seem so unsure about that?" I asked curiously. I narrowed my eyes and accused, "Kushina set you up to this. She just wants me to do something other than sleep, and you're grasping at straws trying to figure something out."

"Don't be stupid," Kakashi snapped.

My eyes narrowed.

"... Shut up," Kakashi mumbled.

"I knew it," I muttered. "Jeeze, fine. Why don't we go grab our punching bag and... grab a movie or something?"

Kakashi relaxed. "That works. Gets the red demon off my case."

"Now you just have to deal with the demon princess," I snickered.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not scared of you."

"Is that a challenge, I hear?"

He twitched. If I hadn't been watching for it, I was certain I would have missed it. My lips twitched in satisfaction. The two of us head down the steps, barely paying any attention to the cuddling couple on the couch.

Kushina raises a hand, not turning around at all. "Good morning. You're up early."

"Sleep is overrated and for the weak, anyway," I grumbled, heading towards the fridge.

Kakashi glanced over at the two. "We're going to the movies with Obito."

Minato turned his head at that point, smiling brightly. "That's wonderful! Do you guys need money?"

"I got it covered," I dismissed, grabbing cinnamon roll dough out of the fridge.

"I'll pay for my own," Kakashi insisted.

"We'll see," was all I said in return.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Kakashi and I stood outside of Obito's home. In comfortable silence we waited for an answer to our knocking. It came a few minutes later, Kiko—Obito's mother—answered the door. Her willow figure stood over us and she gave us a warm smile. "Are you two here for Obi-chan?"

"We were going to the movies and wanted to see if Obito-kun would join us," I answered, giving her a charming smile.

She reflexively returned my smile with a brighter one of her own. I felt inwardly proud of myself at that—I had worked hard under Madara's careful tutelage to be more charismatic. I certainly wasn't as charming or magnetic as he was, but I liked to think I was coming along alright.

"He's right upstairs, I'll go grab him," Kiko answered. The door closed behind her and Kakashi and I exchanged glances.

"So what movie are we going to see?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I don't even know what's playing."

My nose crinkled. "I hope this isn't a waste of time."

"It certainly will be; that's the point."

I snorted just as the door opened and Obito stepped out. He was wearing a pair of long dark blue pants and a white shirt with the Uchiha crest on the right shoulder of it. "What are we doing?"

"Wasting our time," I answered cheekily.

"Oh, good," Obito responded dryly. "I was worried we would actually be doing something _significant_ for today."

"Whatever," Kakashi muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Let's just go and get this over with before Kushina does something drastic."

With a lazy shrug, Obito stepped out, adjusted his goggles over the top of his head and shut the door behind him. The three of us began a slow walk towards the entertainment area in Konoha. Obito folded his arms behind his head. "Man, I'm actually still pretty beat from that last training session!"

I smiled faintly. "You've certainly come a long way, though. You lasted a lot longer than what you would have when you first joined the team. I am reasonably confident you will be acceptable to take the exams with us."

"Exams?" Obito echoed.

Kakashi gave me a long side-glance. "You actually think he'll be ready?"

"Certainly," I said, self-assured. "He is improving at an exponential rate and will, undoubtedly, continue to do so until he has caught up to us. The exams are in the spring, and I suspect this winter will go by quickly."

"What are you guys talking about?" Obito demanded.

"The Chūnin Exams," I explained. "They'll be held in Konoha for spring. Kakashi and I will obviously be able to enter and pass through them easily, but a third member is required to join, as you can only enlist as squads. You would be our third member, Obito."

Obito's eyes widened and a pink hue colored his cheeks. "You—You think I could—?"

I sniffed. " _I'm_ the one training you. _Of course_ you would be able to enter. Anyone I train simply has to excel at whatever I'm training them in."

A blinding grin shone on Obito's face and he launched himself at me, picking me up and twirling me around, and around. I let out squawk of indigence, and Kakashi was quick to pry me out of Obito's arms. I glared at Obito. "What was that for?"

Obito was dancing in place, his eyes shining. "I'm just—that's just—no one has ever—thank you, Oni-hime! _Thank you_."

" _Never_ do that again," I warned him, feeling embarrassed. It had been a long time since someone had done that to me and it brought up all sorts of uncomfortable memories.

Memories I would like to pretend I did not have.

Swallowing roughly, I turned on my heel and began to head further ahead, an ecstatic Obito, and sedated Kakashi trailing behind me.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Later that evening, Madara handed me a scroll. It was a tattered thing, tied together with a red ribbon. With careful hands, I took it and examined it.

"This will be your summon."

My eyes widened. "So soon?"

"He is one of the few summoners we can trust to not try and undermine our cause. More than that, he will be able to be used in both of your words. As Senju Naasica, and as my apprentice," Madara stated.

" _He_?" I repeated. "As in singular?"

"Yes. Unlike most summons, this summoning contract is a contract to one individual."

"Who?"

"If he had a name, it has long since been forgotten," Madara said softly. "This was a scroll the Uchiha plundered from an old temple. It cost the Uchiha five lives retrieving it, only to be found out it was useless to us."

"Useless?" I echoed.

Madara chuckled dryly. "Useless. The contract can only be used for someone who has died."

My breath hitched. "What? How can that be?"

"We thought it was impossible," Madara mused. "Surely, the dead could not fight us. But, that is exactly what must be done. We thought about trying to sell it—pawn it off on some fool, but my brother decided against it. Against the clan's wishes, we hid it away... just in case. And here you are, someone who has died, and yet lives again."

My fingers brushed along the scroll, gently stroking it. It felt rough, and dirty beneath my fingers. It was certainly an old scroll—but how old exactly? And what creature lied inside that would only bow to the once-dead?

Hesitantly, I pulled at the red ribbon that held it together. It came away easily, and I began to carefully unroll the scroll. Intricate lines were drawn all around it—unlike anything I had seen before. It didn't look like any fūinjutsu Kushina had taught me—didn't look like it belonged in this world, at all. The lines were delicate, and curved, and held an almost foreboding sense. The overall design reminded me vaguely of what Tim Burton might think up of.

There didn't seem to be any point to the design; no beginning or ending, either.

I looked over to Madara in confusion, and he stared back at me. "Well?"

"Well what? What does any of this mean?"

Madara blinked slowly. "I can only see a blank scroll. I have only ever been near death; never truly dead. I cannot help you with this. I can only tell you what I know, and I have already told you all I have discovered."

I bit my bottom lip. "None of this makes any sense. It's just a drawing... I think."

Madara gave me a small, albeit bemused smile. "Always look underneath the underneath."

Taking the chastise with an inward grimace, I nodded. "Yes, Madara-sama."

Madara gestured to the cave. "Now, begin your warm-up."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Early in the morning when I returned, I pulled out the scroll and looked at it once again, trying to heed Madara's words.

I couldn't stop staring at it.

It was bugging me. The fact that I couldn't find an end nor a beginning. Everything had an end and a beginning. Even circles had starting points. But these lines were so tightly wound together, and in such an abstract design, none of it made any sense. The more I stared at it, the more it bothered me.

It just wasn't right. It didn't make any sense. What was purpose behind these lines? Kushina always insisted that seals had to be symmetrical. They _had_ to have balance, or else they would lose control and either not work, or explode upon use. There was no balance to this. There was no rationality behind it.

Everything needed to have a reason. Everything _needed_ to have a purpose, or else what was the point of it?

What was the purpose behind this? It couldn't be a seal, could it? It broke every law of fūinjutsu I had been taught. And, yet, it had to be some sort of seal for it to be a summoning contract.

Or was this all a hoax?

But, no... Madara only saw a blank scroll. There was no genjutsu powerful enough to deceive Madara, both now and in his prime.

I could already feel a headache coming on from the frustration. I had to know. I _had_ to understand.

My finger touched the very center of the drawing—or what I perceived to be the center.

_Was this the beginning? Did it start here?_

_What did they think when they first placed their brush against this paper? What was their intention?_

_Who gave this scroll a purpose?_

Idly, I traced my finger along the lines. It was almost a maze, really. If I ignored what it truly was, I could treat it like a game. A test of intellect. A truly challenging game, for it seemed to have no possible ways of winning.

There was no end.

_Why not make one?_

My lips twitched upwards in a smirk at the idea. I ceased my idle tracing, and began to drag my finger along with renewed purpose. I began from the bottom right and started to follow a path I had set forth in my mind. It took a few tries but finally I had managed to interconnect every line together in one smooth motion.

Suddenly the scroll burned my hand and I reflexively dropped it.

The drawing glowed on the scrolled, it filled the room with its bright light. My eyes grew wide in disbelief as I saw the drawing begin to lift off the paper. The lines twisted and curled into the air like smoke before they began to converge into one another. Within moments all the lines had formed together a sort of black ball.

Dazed, I reached out my hand towards the thing. It gently lowered itself into my hand, and I realized that a sort of black gas was oozing out from all around it, giving it a sort of haunting appearance. The sphere turned around slowly, on the front of it was the skull of some sort of animal—a dog, perhaps. Behind its sockets, a single orange glow emitted.

 _ **Hello**_.

"You... you are the summoning creature?" I asked, shock from the ordeal morphing into cautious curiosity.

 _ **We are the sole summoning spirit of this contract,**_ the thing said. _**You wish to make a contract with us?**_

The thing spoke in an old dialect—in the same manner that Kurama referred to himself, and lords in feudal Japan.

"I... do," I began slowly, "How do I make this contract?"

It seemed to watch me for several moments. _**Do you wish violence or peace?**_

"Peace, but I will embark on violence to achieve it," I answered confidently.

_**Then we want the blood of one of your kind. Give it to us, and we will serve you in life and undeath.** _

"How much blood?"

_**Enough to end the life.** _

_That,_ I thought, _would be troublesome to get in Konoha. I will have to simply bring the spirit on another mission from Madara-sama._

"I understand," I answered. "I will summon you again when I have it."

 _ **Then we are done here,**_ it hissed out slowly, dissolving into smoke. The smoke then fell down on the scroll, recreating the lines.

 _Interesting,_ I thought.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"A sacrifice," Madara repeated, obviously amused. "Amusing and very... classic. Although, I suppose it _is_ an archaic creature. Very well, tonight we shall ascertain a sacrifice for you. Do you remember that old outpost I had you and Zetsu clear out and secure a month ago?"

I did. It was mostly filled with bandits who had squatted near the road to raid passing merchant caravans.

No one missed them.

Once it was cleared, Madara had me grow one of my trees there. He had me doing that at every spot we cleared; each trees' roots stretched as far as I could make them, intersecting one another and creating a clear path for me to travel through.

As consequence, I could transport myself nearly anywhere in the nations at an instant with little to no strain on myself.

"Go there," Madara instructed. "North of there, there is a small lord with a small fortune. He is a miser and at loathe to part with his money, even in a bank. Naturally, Zetsu has confirmed that all his wealth is being kept in his estate. Use him as your sacrifice. Collect the fortune and bring it back here."

I bowed. "It will be done, Madara-sama."

His eyes gleamed as he watched me bow before I dismissed myself to get changed. Once I was battle-ready, I gestured for one of the clones to follow me and headed towards my small tree in the cave.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The estate was guarded by numerous mercenaries. Some had a considerable amount of chakra, and others had the amount of civilians.

The white clone popped his head out of the tree next to me. "Madara-sama wants me to tell you that he wants a stealth job. You are not ready for a massacre of this level, yet."

Instantly, I felt disappointment. It bothered me that I was not yet at an acceptable level for me to perform _all_ jobs perfectly. In an ideal world it would be better to slaughter the mercenaries to _guarantee_ I would not be caught; but, since I did not know nearly enough ninjutsu outside of my mouton, that would be impossible. My taijutsu was not up to par that I could _only_ use it against that many enemies, and my katon ninjutsu was, at best, C-Rank. Don't even get me started on fūton.

I was anxious to perform as Madara's tool to the fullest, and being unable to left me feeling disappointed at myself.

I resisted the urge to sigh, choosing instead to let the useless emotions drain out of me.

It was a waste to dwell on such things on a mission. Emotions were meaningless to a tool, if not an outright hindrance. Right now I was Madara's tool. I was his right hand, and he was _relying_ on me. I could not fail him. _I would not fail him._

With a sharp eye, I began to survey the estate. It was smaller than the Hyūga and Senju, but larger than the Hokage's. Tall walls—about ten meters or so—surrounded it, with many guards circling around them; however, it was flat and square so I had a clear view of the entire estate, and its guards. Coupled my sight with my chakra sensing and it was easy to see the rotation.

To the back of the estate was a sharp cliff that overlook a vast river, while the front and sides were surrounded by tall trees (I hid among one at that moment). For over an hour I watched the guards go about their routines. Many of them were relaxed and talked with one another. I could sense more inside, but they were all grouped together in one room—probably their living quarters—and many were asleep.

There were no trees in the estate, so I knew I had to go through the hard way.

Clenching my gloved hands together, I steeled myself.

Then, I moved.

Shifting my chakra to the flat of my feet I glided down the tree and crossed the distance between me and the wall. The guards were looking away, towards the river and talking quietly on the wall above me. I could hear them vaguely talking about fishing, but I paid little heed.

Placing the palms of my hands flat against the wall, I began to pull myself up using my chakra and quietly crawl up the wall, not unlike a spider.

Reaching the top, I peered up at the guards—still talking. With one hand, I cast the most basic genjutsu—a Sensory conflicting one that caused them to see only what they're expecting to see. They only gave a heartbeat of a pause in their conversation before continuing.

Resisting the urge to smile smugly, I climbed over the wall and hopped over the other side. It was quick work to flicker across the garden and crawl in through an unlocked window—you would be surprised at how careless people can be when they believe they have a _perfect_ security system.

From there, I merely followed Zetsu's instructions on where the lord was, while easily evading the sleepy guards who wandered the halls.

After I found the lord, I quietly locked the door behind me and rendered the lord fully unconscious—assuring that there was no way for him to wake up on accident. With that done, I instructed Zetsu to begin searching the estate for the fortune, while I summoned the spirit.

 _ **Do you have the blood we requested?**_ It demanded.

I gestured towards the unconscious man. "I am about to give it to you now.

It floated towards him. _**We will take him now.**_

Before I could ask what they meant by that, they buried themselves inside the lord's chest and—

I flinched.

The sound of crunching bone filled the air as the middle aged man was, _literally_ , sucked into the orb from the inside out. His eyes shot open, and his mouth gaped in surprise, but no sounds could escape him for his lungs were already sucked in.

It didn't last more than thirty seconds, at most, and when it was over, there was not a single hair left of him.

It seemed to sigh in content. _**Satisfactory. Very well. We will serve, as promised.**_

Suppressing my disgust, I got to the point. "What are your abilities?"

_**Possession. Necromancy. Mind attacks.** _

"Elaborate," I demanded.

_**We can possess things, living or not. Our previous mastered favored us possessing his weapons and fighting alongside him. We would possess his worst enemies and force proper death on them through seppuku if he so chose, or have them murder loved ones.** _

_**We cannot bring souls themselves back into their bodies; we can fall forth the echoes of their spirit and bind them any way we please, though.** _

_**We can enter anyone's mind. Their memories become our memories. Their fears... laid bare before us.** _

I considered this, and an idea came to me. "You can possess... _anything_?"

_**Yes.** _

"Even... trees?"

_**Yes.** _

I quickly formed a small tree—no bigger than four feet—from my right hand. Instead of growing it into the ground, though, I hardened its roots and grew them out like legs. I grew two branches on each side, giving them claws. I even went so far as to carve out two sockets for eyes and a permanent smile.

"Possess that. Tell me what you can do with it."

The thing floated around the tree for a moment before entering inside of it. A single orange glow emitted behind the tree's eyes for a moment. It walked around the room, its branches clacking. _**This thing is made from your chakra, and you are our master. We are able to do whatever you are able to do.**_

To prove this statement, it grew its own leaves—a bright, electric blue that glowed. It waved its right arm around and the arm transformed into something thicker... sturdier...

A smile bloomed across my face. "This is my order, then. When I summon you in that tree, to the world _that_ is your true form. You are a... trent. A unique summon to me. All your abilities are exclusive to what you can use in that form. Any other time I summon you outside of that form, you are to use your true form and all your abilities to their maximum potential.

_**Understood.** _

I paused. "Now we only need a name for you... as a trent, and as your true form. Do you have a preference?"

_**No.** _

I chuckled, as the names came to me. "As a trent, you will be referred to as _Heiwa._ In your true form, you are _Sensō._ "

_**Yes, mistress.** _

"Hime?" the clone inquired, appearing from the floorboard. "I found the fortune."

My smile grew wider. "Then this mission was a grand success. Let's collect it and be gone from this place."


	13. Tessen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> " _ **If I make another move, there'll be no more turning back -**_

_**because everything will change, and it all will fade to black."** _

_**-Bad Apple** _

_The scream tore out of my throat, raspy and broken._

_The lights turned on and arms were around me._

_I couldn't feel it, though._

_I couldn't feel anything._

_Blonde hair covered my vision, and I vaguely got the sense of someone trying to comfort me._

_I couldn't feel it though._

_I couldn't feel anything, anymore._

_. . ._

_. ._

_._

"I think we've reached a point where we can decided where to go next in our training," Minato declared to us one autumn day.

The transition into winter was a gentle one. The days grew shorter and despite being named as the Land of Fire, the country still faced some chilling winters. In truth, the only reason the country was named Land of Fire was from its plethora of volcanoes—the country itself was bipolar with its whether, and it was not terribly surprising to see a couple tornadoes grace our springs. For the most part Konoha had yet to deal with a direct confrontation of a tornado in years—at least not since I was reborn into the world—but the tornados still occurred along our border.

All of the volcanoes were dormant, and had been for at least a century. The Uzumaki Clan had been the ones to forcibly seal away a few of the volcanoes; a thought that sent chills up my spine. To imagine any one human capable of stopping the force of a volcano with the simple matter of (essentially) _words_ on _paper_ was... _staggering_. How could such a clan fall, regardless of the number of enemies? It was mind boggling and made little sense to me.

But, I suppose it didn't matter. What was done was done.

We had all transitioned into our winter clothing. While we could regulate our body temperature with our chakra, it was a waste of chakra to do so outside of extreme conditions.

Kakashi discarded his previous short sleeve short in favor of a long-sleeved black jacket with a front zipper. His arm guards were gone, as well, but he kept his thick finger-less shinobi gloves. He wore a dark brown half-skirt that covered his sides and back and fell a little past his knees. The material was thick and heavy—strong enough that it wouldn't tear from a standard kunai throw—and due to the material, Kakashi could easy sit in a pile of snow without getting wet, or feeling cold. Underneath the skirt he wore thick black shinobi-standard pants with a kunai holster on his left leg.

His tanto was currently in storage.

Obito replaced his favorite dark blue jacket in favor of a short-sleeved navy blue shirt, with a bright orange thick long-sleeved shirt underneath. The Uchiha crest was still emblazed on the back of his shirt. His pants mirrored Kakashi's, save instead of black he wore dark blue, and his kunai pouch was on his right thigh. He had a heavy dark blue coat tied around his waste at the moment, but I knew once practice started he would place it underneath the tree.

Once again Kushina played a strong hand in my choice of outfit—I had a feeling she was over the moon about being able to dress me up. I certainly didn't mind, as I was uncertain of how to shop for... appealing outfits. Madara insisted that I remained aesthetically pleasing in the village as it would make ascertaining alliances with civilian nobles, lords, and other politically savvy parties easier. As shallow as it was a pretty face backed with power went a long way in politics.

I wore a pale orange thick jacket with a large hood that I normally kept pulled down. There were tufts of creamy-colored fur outlining the hood, as well as the end of the sleeves and the inside of my jacket. Underneath my jacket was a creamy-colored t-shirt with the Senju crest emblazed in red on the back. I had a dark orange skirt (with slits on both sides for better maneuverability) that ended halfway down my thighs and long creamy-colored leggings that disappeared into my white winter boots.

I sorely missed my dark colors, but Kushina was all about the bright and lively colors. It was so like her—so eye-catching and warm, filled with light. She was a beacon in my life, shimmering brilliantly amidst the chaos of war. Untainted with her sunny disposition.

Her affection was contagious and I even was starting to be drawn to the more... luminous colors that reminded me of her. I may have craved and belonged in the dark along with Madara, but my heart had a special spot for Kushina's light.

"What do you have in mind, Minato-sensei?" Obito asked excitedly. "Are you going to teach us some sweet ninjutsu, yet?"

"Naasica-hime can't learn ninjutsu aside from the mokuton, Obito-kun," Minato reminded him lightly.

Obito waved a dismissive hand. "Oni-hime doesn't need any more ninjutsu! She's lethal enough as it was."

I leaned over to Obito, rubbing against his shoulder, fluttering my eyelashes and purring, "What a _sweet_ pincushion you are. I can't wait to prove how right you are in today's training lessons."

Obito stuck out his tongue at me, playfully shoving me off him. After _months_ of being brutally, and systematically beaten by Kakashi or myself in our private training sessions, any pain I could reintroduce to him (without lethality, or showing my Other Side) would be redundant. He could easily take what we threw at him and then some.

He certainly came a far cry from the little boy that joined us at the end of spring. His taijutsu would likely never match our level, but his katon ninjutsu was developing nicely. His quick-time reactions due to the Sharingan was also a welcome accomplishment.

Minato chuckled good-naturedly. "Actually, seeing how everyone has become rather companionable I was thinking we could start working on our team fighting style."

I balked inwardly.

_No. Hell no._

I had nothing personally against working as team, or learning to fight as a team. I just knew that it would physically impossible for me at that point.

I was literally learning two very contrasting fighting styles. One for my personal use as Naasica of Konoha, and the other for Madara's plans as his tool. The two styles were contradictory and it was a constant effort to keep one style from bleeding into the next. Normally shinobi or kunoichi learned multiple styles for each of the styles to bleed into one another and create a unique combination. I could not do such a thing in this case, for I could not risk such an obvious association between Madara's tool and Senju Naasica.

As a result I had the very strict, ninjutsu-heavy, and bukijutsu-heavy style of Madara, against the flexible nintaijutsu-focused style of Naasica. I could not allow _any_ of the styles to combine into the other, nor could I allow myself to maneuver in any way that mimicked the other style. It was trying and difficult, but I knew it would come with ease after years of practice.

In the meantime, though, I simply _could not_ learn _another_ fighting style without that style bleeding over into the other two forms.

I simply could not do it.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Sensei," I began, feeling a frown mar my face. "I have nothing against working as a team, but I believe our coordination should come naturally rather than trained. I have very intentions of seeing this team rise through the ranks, and if we set our style now we could become too trapped in that style. I firmly believe that our team style should be spontaneous in battle."

Minato's brow furrowed briefly, but he relaxed soon enough. "I see your point, but—"

"I agree with her," Kakashi said quietly. "Teamwork and coordination will come with experience and time. We don't need to waste our time now, or limit ourselves in the future by choosing a set style at this point in time."

"What they said," Obito agreed.

Kakashi spared him a glance. "Do you even understand what we're talking about?"

"Not really," Obito admitted, "but I don't need to 'cause I trust you two to do what's best for the team."

Kakashi's lips twitched behind his mask and I awarded Obito with a pleased smile.

"Well, alright," Minato said slowly, "if you three are really adamant about this, I won't force the issue at this point, especially since I had a back-up plan in mind for our next focus of training."

"What is it, Sensei?" Kakashi inquired.

Minato grinned. "Cooperation Ninjutsu! Even if you don't want to dedicate a fighting style for this team, I still feel it's important to have a couple cooperation ninjutsu ready."

Obito's eyes lit up. "That sounds really cool! So what exactly does it do?"

"Well, you remember how the elements play off one another?"

Obito gave him a blank look.

Kakashi face-palmed while I resisted the urge to start throwing kunai at Obito. Clearly I forgot to make sure Obito was keeping up in his intellectual training in favor of making him catch up to Kakashi and me physically. A mistake I would undoubtedly rectify after this lesson.

Minato's lips ghosted into a brief smile before disappearing. He squatted on the ground and pulled out one of his kunai and began to draw a simple pentagon. At each point of the pentagon he wrote out each of the elements. From the top and clockwise it was: Katon, Fūton, Raiton, Doton, and Suiton. He pointed at katon at the top. "Each of the elements correspond in the direction of the pentagon clockwise. To the right of the element is what it is strongest against, and to the left is what is strong against it. Katon style is strong against fūton, but weak against suiton. Raiton is strong against doton but weak against fūton.

"Each shinobi's chakra is unique to one of these elements. There are some cases, though, where a shinobi—or kunoichi—can develop a mutation to their chakra that combines two or more elements to create a new one. Naasica-hime's mokuton, for example, combines doton and suiton. In other cases shinobi who became adept at mastering multiple elements are able to combine these elements to create massively powerful ninjutsu. We won't be working on anything so large-scale, but I want to ensure that you three are capable of linking up your ninjutsu without harming yourselves, or your allies."

"How can we do that, though?" I questioned. "I'm a mokuton user while Obito is katon, and Kakashi is raiton. None of our elements correspond with one another."

"It's true that none of them naturally enhance the other, and it'll be tricky utilizing your mokuton with Obito's katon, or Kakashi's raiton," Minato admitted, "but I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't have a plan in mind already."

Minato gestured for me to step forward. I docilely took a couple steps towards him. "Hime, would you please create a pillar going straight up about ten meters away from here?"

I asked, "How high up?"

Minato gave a thoughtful hum. "Let's shoot for twenty meters. Do it when I say start."

I nodded my head, placing both my hands on the firm ground below us. The ground was chilly, and the dead grass crunched underneath my hands. Even if it was not a particularly cold day that day, I knew by the end of the week it would grow to be significantly colder.

Obito discarded his jacket around his waist, and both he and Kakashi took a few steps back from me. Minato pulled out a stopwatch, readying it. When he was prepared he said, "Start!"

I flexed upon my chakra, and allowed it to follow its very nature. It formed and bubbled around me, quickly gathering beneath my hands and into the ground below. In a single breath the chakra shot out and traveled along the ground before shooting up ten meters away from us as a climbing tree. I did not allow it to create any branches or leaves, so it was a rather bare twisty trunk that reached up into the sky. I stopped it at about twenty two meters and looked back up at Minato.

Minato smiled. "Good. Can you withdraw it now, please?"

I pulled on my chakra, forcing it to return to me and the trunk descended into the ground.

"Next, Obito-kun, would you please stand next to Naasica-hime?"

Obito shrugged and walked over towards me.

"Obito-kun when I say start I want you to wait a second and then use the biggest katon you have and shoot for the exact spot where Naasica-hime had the tip of her jutsu last was."

I frowned as I realized what would happen. I looked back up at Minato.

"This time hime, I want you to raise the trunk up to thirty meters."

"Should I shoot that high, then, Sensei?" Obito asked.

Minato shook his head. "Not yet. Ready? Start!"

Once more I pushed my chakra out and the trunk shot up in the air. At twenty meters Obito's massive fire ball slammed into it and I felt my chakra faltering. As the trunk climbed higher, the base of it shrunk and burned rapidly. The entire tree was aflame and quickly turning to ash.

Ever still, I made it climb to the thirty meters—it became a towering flame.

"That was cool, Sensei," Obito said, but he was frowning, "but I just ruined Oni-hime's jutsu."

"And do you know why that occurred?" Minato asked, smiling widely.

I pursed my lips. "Because wood burns."

He laughed at that, reaching over and patting my head. "No. Because you stopped creating the wood that was being burned."

Blushing brightly at that, I ducked my head as I realized he was correct. I did not immediately regrow the wood when I realized it was being burned away. I chose to instead complete the task Minato had specifically given to me instead of going beyond it.

"Mokuton is especially susceptible to katon because chakra-created wood is highly flammable with chakra-created fire. This is because the chakra-created fire can feed off the chakra in the wood, whereas a normal fire would not burn away the chakra so quickly. To make up for that in this combination, Naasica-hime must rapidly replace the wood with new wood—she must continuously regrow."

"But why make her do that? That seems like a waste of chakra," Kakashi said.

"To someone without her reserves, probably," Minato agreed, "but this ability is unique. Naasica-hime has remote control over anything she creates with her mokuton, giving her the capability of creating a pursuing jutsu without even moving. This allows her to target at an especially long range. With time, and practice in using her mokuton, she should be able to create numerous trees to attack for her."

Obito's eyes lit up. "Numerous trees that are on _fire_!"

"A certain possibility, yes," Minato agreed again, giving our little pyromaniac a wink. Obito was giggling with glee, positively giddy at the thought of setting a mini forest on fire.

"That's going to be _so cool_! Oh, _Oh_! Oni-hime, can you make your trees look like dragons?"

I hesitated. "A dragon mokuton is a unique jutsu on its own. It doubles as a sealing jutsu since the mokuton chakra inside it produces a sedative chakra"

Obito cocked his head, dumbstruck. "What?"

"The dragon mokuton is one of the mokuton jutsus used to subdue powerful shinobi or _bijū_ ," Kakashi sighed, giving Obito an irritated look. "Did you pay attention in _any_ of your classes?"

"It gives out sedative chakra?" Obito repeated blankly. "Like... what those... medical shinobi do?"

"Sort of," I admitted. "It's complicated. It uses some yinchakra as well, instead of just my mokuton chakra."

"Yin?"

Kakashi dug his fist on top of Obito's head, causing the young Uchiha to stumble forwards and clutch his head. " _Itai!_ The _hell_ , Baka-kashi?"

" _Moron_. Go to a library," Kakashi snapped.

"We're getting off track here," I said. "I cannot create the dragon mokuton until I can use yin and yang chakra, so for now you will have to be content with a simple tree."

Obito shrugged, still rubbing the top of his head. "Oh. Okay. So I get how me and Naasica will combine, but where does Baka-kashi fit in?"

Kakashi's right eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Minato rested a hand on top his head, slightly smirking. "Kakashi won't be able to join in on the combination until he feels comfortable with channeling his raiton along another's chakra."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.

"Any base element can follow someone's chakra," Minato began. "For example, if I were to create a string of chakra from this point all the way over to those training posts, a raiton user could channel their raiton release through me, and it would travel along that chakra strong. This can be done for any of the elements, even doton. It's the basis of being able to combine powerful techniques directly; such as fūton and katon."

"How do I learn to do that?"

"Practice," Minato said simply. "You'll practice with me, learning to channel your chakra through my own and following a small chakra string I create. Once you're comfortable enough with that, you can practice on the hime."

"Why can't I just start with her?" Kakashi frowned.

Minato fought to hold a smile back at that. "I think you'll find that once you connect with her directly as such, her mokuton chakra can be rather... lethargic and dense to work with. It'll be harder than most."

"Really?" I was surprised at that. "Is it that big of a difference?"

"Huge," Minato admitted. "I've had a couple sensors specifically stay away from us to avoid directly dealing with your chakra. It's very... sedative?"

"Why is that a question?"

Minato shrugged. "I'm not a sensor, so I can't describe it. When they sense the mokuton, they feel heavier, simple as that."

"Interesting," I mused. "Do you know if it was like that with Hashirama?"

Minato shrugged once more. "I can look through the Jōnin library to see, if you'd like."

"I would. I'm curious if that sedative sensation is in relation to the dragon mokuton ninjutsu."

"Sure. For now, though, let's continue working on combination ninjutsu for now. Tomorrow we'll be going over information gathering!"

The three of us groaned.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"So," I began sweetly, grabbing the back of Obito's collar. Obito gave a plaintive whimper at that. "From what I understand our physical conditioning has been doing wonders for you, little boy; but, it seems that you've been slacking off intellectually."

"Come on, hime," Obito whined, "I haven't had the time. You literally make me train until I collapse."

I released his collar, allowing him to turn around and face me. I awarded him with a mocking sneer. "If Kakashi and I can do it, so can you. After our physical conditioning has reached a satisfactory conclusion this evening you and I will be going to the Genin library. I will assign three texts that must be read by the end of the month. I will, of course, create a strict schedule for you to follow. If you do not follow the schedule _I will make my displeasure known_."

"But—"

My icy glare shut up him. "A team is only as good as its weakest link, Obito-kun. I admit that you have progressed admirably. You are clearly above average, not unlike Kakashi and me. That only further proves my point, however, that you have the potential to succeed. You are merely lacking in a firm hand to fairly guide you and provide you with focused attention. I will not allow you to squander your abilities, Obito-kun. I expect this team to pass the upcoming Chūnin Exams with soaring colors, followed by the Jōnin Exams in the months afterwards. Do I make myself clear?"

Obito's expression was torn between prideful and fearful. He settled on sly in the end. "You really think I'm talented?"

"Obviously you wouldn't have survived her training if you didn't have _some_ talent," Kakashi said dryly.

Obito preened. "Well, yeah, that makes sense. She's crazy! Good, but crazy."

"I wouldn't have earned the title _Oni-hime_ if I wasn't," I sniffed.

"What are ya gonna have me ready, anyway?"

"Human physiology texts, and biology," I answered.

Obito squawked. "What!? That's—That's—"

I shrugged. "Out of the three of us you have the best potential of becoming a med-nin. Your personality even fits it."

"But—"

"I'm not saying you have to specialize in it, Obito," I responded patiently. "But, it is an invaluable skill that I believe will be best suited for you to learn. Naturally, Kakashi and I myself will learn the basic Mystic Palm, but _you_ , I strongly believe will be able to go further with it than we could. Furthermore med-nin is too valuable to not have _any_ knowledge on it. What if Kakashi and I were gravely injured on the field and you couldn't do anything to save us due to your decision to not learn even the basics?"

Obito's shoulders hunched over, his eyes downcast. "Hate myself."

"Exactly," I agreed. "Kakashi and I have already read these texts. I am not making you learn something that we would not learn ourselves; but, I have a good feeling that once you get the hang of it, you will enjoy it."

"What makes you say that?"

"You love helping people," I responded simply. "You have a sweet heart, Obito-kun. You are not suited for a path of violence, like Kakashi and I are."

"You guys are sweet, too," Obito argued instantly, blushing. "You guys are the ones that stay after every day to help me train. Even if you say it's just to help yourselves out by having a stronger team, I _know_ you could have just requested a new team, or ignore me entirely then leave after the exams."

My cheeks warmed in sheepish embarrassment and Kakashi looked away, shoving his hands in his pockets. He mumbled, "Whatever. Let's just get started."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Woman. Come here."

I rose from my meditation pose—Madara was having me transition my chakra into the ratios of each of the main elements. The best way to do so was during meditation, as it allowed me to wholly concentrate on my chakra core. Doing this was to create a habit of drawing upon my chakra and correctly changing the nature. Eventually I would be able to develop the ability to adjust my chakra ratio to whatever element I needed.

Naturally some elements would forever be out of my reach—mostly kekkai genkais for obvious reasons—and some would come easier than most. Katon and Fūton were always difficult, but the two were imperative to mimicking Madara; however, with enough time and near-perfect chakra control there was no reason to being unable to utilize each element to some degree.

Especially since I knew and understood the ratios.

When I arrived to Madara's side, I bowed. "What would you have of me, Madara-sama?"

"I have a gift for you," Madara answered, and it was then that I noticed an item wrapped in black cloth. "A reward for your efforts, and something you can carry with you always."

"I am—"

His eyes narrowed. "I was not finished, woman."

"I apologize."

"Forgiven. This is an item that was passed down from my grandmother to my mother. As you are aware, my mother did not give birth to any kunoichi, and no one lived long enough to marry, and thus was unable to pass on this relic. I kept it in her honor, and I have decided that you will treat it well."

I was speechless. Words could not even begin to describe the staggering amounts of flattery, and _honor_ I felt at that moment. I was deeply humbled by what Madara was about to entrust to me—for what he was about to _bless_ (for really, what could be a better word?) me with.

There was a lump in my throat that prevented any sound from escaping me, and for some strange reason my vision was a blurred and it burned unpleasantly. Madara watched me carefully, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips. "Do you remember when you first began learning the tessen?"

I blinked in surprise, the memory coming unbidden.

_"You have reached an acceptable level of competence with the gunbai, jian, and bo. I will allow you the choice to train in your next weapon."_

_A thrill ran through me, and I bowed lowly to my master. Madara raised a pale hand and gestured for me to follow him. I did so happily, pulling off my training shirt and using it to wipe the sweat off my brow. I had to tug down my undershirt after doing so, though, and I ended up discarding the training shirt off to the side. It was drenched in sweat and I did not enjoy the thought of putting it back on._

_Madara guided me to his weapons room—home to seventy three different types of weapon; one of them being a two meter long smoking pipe. Madara was always quick to remind me that anything and anyone could be a weapon. Literally. There was a skull mace from a Kaguya, and more than a few spines fashioned into whips._

_Madara's goal was for me to master at least ten different weapon styles. He said I would most likely be able to master more once I "reached a certain point in the plan", but for the time I had to learn them the hard way._

_Surprisingly, it was easier than what I would have anticipated. The motions came fluid and after years of Madara drilling his taijutsu into me. His taijutsu was bukijutsu base, so the weapon training just fit nice and snugly into my routine._

_"Tessen?" I inquired, looking over at Madara._

_"A very kunoichi-like weapon."_

_"Its style is similar to the gunbai, though, and I could carry it on me as Naasica," I said, explaining my reasoning._

_"True," Madara agreed. "I suppose it would seem odd if you did not learn any weapons as Naasica, and furthermore it is a common and small enough item that you may encounter it on my missions for you. Learning how to use it will make learning how to counter it exceedingly simple. A good choice, woman."_

_My cheeks warmed under his praise and I bowed to him once more. "Thank you, Madara-sama."_

_Madara waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "Rise, woman. Let us begin our practice. I suspect in about three years' time you will have adequate understanding of enough weapons, and ninjutsu, that we can begin incorporating them."_

_"I will not fail you."_

_"I know."_

"Yes, Madara-sama," I rasped out, swallowing multiple times to try and get rid of the lump.

Madara presented his blessing to me, and I took it with careful hands. Delicately, I began to unwrap the black cloth and marveled at what I held in my hands. It was heavy—heavier than the tessen I had been practicing with—and I knew it was made of very sturdy material. The metal was black and shiny, it had obviously been well taken care of. There were a handful of scratches and blemishes on it, but they were minute and I had to squint to see them. The tessen was roughly twenty centimeters long, and when I fanned it out, it spread out to roughly forty centimeters wide. It was certainly bigger than what I had anticipated, but it was _beautiful._

There was a picture inside the fan. The teeth were all black, but there was this gorgeous design that reminded me of an intricate flower kimono design. It was filled with dark and bright colors; red; orange, yellow, some blues. It was a blazing sunset lighting up a field of blood-soaked flowers, with illuminated blue stems.

"This is beautiful," I whispered.

"Yes," Madara agreed. "It suits you."

"I..."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Late in the evening the following day, I indulged in showing off the tessen to Kakashi. Meanwhile, Obito was having a hard-pressed sparing match with Heiwa. My summons was unused to utilizing a trent and my abilities, so the spar was a good chance for both of them to get some work done.

" _WHERE THE HELL DID YOU FIND THIS THING?!_ " Obito screamed out as he narrowly avoided a massive wooden hammer that used to be Heiwa's hand. The trent was cackling like mad.

_**Run little meatsack! Run!** _

"WHY THE HELL IS THIS THING NAMED FOR PEACE WHEN HE'S MORE SADISTIC THAN YOU?"

"I think it's a very fitting name for him," I called out, giving Kakashi time to marvel over the tessen.

"Where did you find this?" Kakashi inquired. "It looks ancient."

"In the old compound," I easily lied.

Kakashi shook his head, blinking in amazement. "It's impressive. I didn't know you knew how to use a tessen, though."

I shrugged. "I'm not a master. It's just something you pick up here and there."

"I suppose," Kakashi agreed with because _of course_ a prodigy would understand what I was talking about, or at least think he did. "Your compound sure does have a lot of weird things. I wonder why Hashirama never used Heiwa in battle."

The introduction of my summons to my team went by fairly easy. No one could really refute (or had any reason to) the claim that I found him in the Senju compound years ago and only just now figured out what he was. It wasn't far-fetched to think that the Senju family had a summoning contract, or pretty much any artifact. The Noble Clans of Konoha had been around since the beginning of the village and a large portion of their relics were not documented by the village.

It also wasn't so hard to believe that the Senju clan didn't recognize the summoning contract for what is was. The clan went "endangered" within a century. Many of the fūinjutsu masters perished _decades_ ago within the clan. Grandmother was the rare exception as she was not a frontline fighter, nor did she do risky experiments alone (you would be amazed how many fūinjutsu shinobi and kunoichi got arrogant of their skills and practiced untested seals alone and _died_. Grandmother had once told me that _at least_ twenty of Senju's finest fūinjutsu users died within the past five decades _alone_ of doing just that).

"Maybe Heiwa was acquired later on and only those with the mokuton can use him."

"Then who was the mokuton user before Hashirama who _made_ the contract?"

I shrugged. "No clue. Heiwa won't discuss it. I'm just happy to have a contract."

"And an antique tessen," Kakashi added.

"And an amazing tessen," I agreed, smilingly blissfully. It still made me giddy and _ecstatic_ to think about Madara's gift to me.

"Nononononono—THAT DOESN'T BEND THAT WAY."

"Don't break his arm," I called out. "They take too long to heal."

_**Okay.** _

There was a resounding pop that signified the end of the lesson. Obito let out a squawk and clutched his dislocated right shoulder. Kakashi sighed and got up. "I'll put it back in place, just hang on..."

Heiwa turned to me, its ethereal gaze meeting mine. I felt his gentle brush against my mind that conveyed a deep sense of bemusement.

_**Your teammates are squishy, but I enjoyed this. I hope next time you summon me, you will have a good meal prepared.** _

Translation: give me something to devour in whole pretty please, and thank you.

I bowed to it. "I will. Thank you for sparring with Obito. He's too used to how Kakashi and I attack, and so the brutal change of pace will be sure to wizen him."

 _ **Of course,**_ Heiwa responded before he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the tree left behind began to rapidly decay.

Another snap echoed the clearing and Obito gave a barely repressed groan. I spared him a glance, smirking at his sweat-bruised-scratched-and-just-generally-beaten form. He learned a while ago to always discard his clothes—except his boxers, of course—when he sparred with either me, or Kakashi. And after the first session with Heiwa, he learned to do the same.

Moving quietly to kneel beside him, I made sure to grab the first-aid kit along the way. "You did very well this time. Even I have difficulty sparring against Heiwa."

Then again that was mostly because he would stay in his true form and possess any and _all_ weapons Madara threw at him so it was more like I was facing ten or so floating weapons that I was not allowed to damage at all (because they were Madara's _precious_ relics). The only way to win was to either survive long enough that Madara decided it was enough, or to knock out one of the Zetsu's that Heiwa was protecting.

I still had a nasty gash on my upper right thigh that required Madara to use medical ninjutsu on to heal (and even then, it was bad enough that Madara had cancelled extensive training for the next week while I recovered). To say Madara was displeased my failure was an understatement. The scathing lecture left me overly critical of all my actions for days.

The grin on Obito's face practically lit up his entire expression. Even his eyes were bright with excitement. "I know, right? He didn't knock me unconscious this time!"

"Very good indeed," I praised him. "Your stances and reactions times have dramatically improved and I am very happy with your physical progress. I believe the next area we should focus on should be speed, and learning to strategize in battle."

Kakashi nodded his head. "You're too reckless, and it shows you aren't thinking through a lot of your actions. It makes you predictable. Speed will come easily enough, but strategy just comes with practice. I think we should try having you spar against more than just Naasica and me."

"Like who?" Obito asked.

"Your mother would be a good choice," I suggested, "and Kushina-nee-chan. Your mother is a genjutsu specialist, so that will give you good experience in dealing with genjutsu. Nee-chan is very spontaneous and sporadic, so you'll have to think fast on the fly."

Obito smiled. "Okay. Hey, you guys said you read those books you made me get, right?"

We nodded.

"I don't understand some of the chapters. It's mostly just the, ah... the words?"

Kakashi gave a small grunt. "I have a dictionary you can borrow."

"That would be really helpful," Obito said.

"I also have some notes that I took a couple years ago," I offered. "If you have any specific questions, just write it down and I'll try to find the answers for you."

Obito gave me an infectious smile. "Thanks, Oni-hime! I gotta say, I'm really looking forward to learning some basic medical ninjutsu, if only so I don't have to quit training so early!"

Kakashi and I exchanged amused looks. "Kakashi and I haven't learned any medical ninjutsu, yet. If you enjoy the subject enough, don't hesitate to learn it without us."

"'Kay. The texts are really boring, but I promise I'll get through them. You know I never go back on my word!"

My lips twitched for a brief moment, and I reached out a hand and patted his sweat-matted hair. "You're a good boy, Obito."

He blushed in embarrassment.


	14. Winter

**Will tomorrow ever come? Will I make it through the night?**

**Will there ever be a place...**

**... for the broken in the light?**

**\- Bad Apple**

_Falling gently._

_It's cold._

_She's covered in red._

_I reach out my hand to catch the first snowflake, and the blonde woman looks down at her hands._

_She buries her hands in the snow._

_It stains red._

" _Welcome home," I whispered._

_. . ._

_. ._

_._

It was the first snowfall of that winter. The coldness had slowly crept into Konoha, forcing the trees into slumber and lulling the flowers into oblivion. The snow started sometime after midnight and likely would not stop until noon. At first the snow melted upon touching the ground, but closer to dawn it began to stay and grow.

At present, the snow was roughly twenty three centimeters off the ground.

I tugged on my boots, pulling them snugly on my feet before I brushed back my hair. It had grown a bit since the start of summer and I was debating on growing it out or not. It had its appeal, certainly. Long hair on a kunoichi, or shinobi, was a mark of strength; but, it was also an obvious taunt. I wasn't certain of my own prowess as a kunoichi to handle having long hair. Perhaps after I had ascertained the coveted Jōnin rank I would reconsider the idea, but for the moment...

There was a wet hacking cough that echoed from upstairs, followed by Kushina's cooing sound. Kakashi had caught the unfortunate flu and would be bed-ridden for a couple days.

Another oddity about this world, versus my previous one. With chakra running rampant in every living creature viruses and bacteria acted a bit differently—rather they were super-powered mutations against my previous world's abominations. Chakra was a natural fighting force against any poison, bacteria, infections, viruses, mutations—you name it. It was a _powerful_ force on top of that—how else to explain how chakra alone could literally stitch bones together and mend hearts split in two?

As such, the sicknesses and whatnot evolved to combat against chakra. The stronger the individual's chakra, the stronger the bacteria or virus was required to be in order to fight it. The result? When shinobi or kunoichi got sick, _they got sick_. For a day, or maybe even a week if they were unlucky enough, their body's chakra would be in a titular battle against the illness. The worst part was introducing anyone else's chakra into their system would cause an auto-immune attack and the sick person's chakra would lash out against the doctor's chakra.

The battle had to be entirely on their own. It was why when dealing with viruses, or bacteria, the doctors would prescribe bed-rest and some form of medication to bolster the patient's chakra (chakra pills were occasionally used). It was why when poison was involved the doctor had to submerge their hands in water and use that water to interact with the infected person's body. Direct chakra-to-chakra interaction produced unsavory results.

Thankfully the bacteria and other ilk had not evolved to completely overcome chakra at the moment, and as such bed rest and the occasional medication was all it took to treat this sort of thing.

 _But,_ the bed rest was an absolute must as the war completely wrecked one's chakra system, making it a jumble of uncomfortable nerves. Not only that, but using chakra and depleting from one's system when they were sick just made it _that_ much harder to combat the illness.

At the moment Kushina was mothering sick Kakashi, literally tying him to his bed and force-feeding him her cooking. It was briefly amusing to watch Kakashi struggle against the determined woman, but then she brought out a baby bottle, and tied him up before sticking the thing in his mouth.

The look of utter humiliation on his face was one to savor, though.

"I'm heading out," I called out upstairs.

"Have fun!"

"Don't— _cough, cough_ —leave— _choke , hack_ —GET THAT THING AWAY— _cough, cough!"_

I wondered briefly if she was going to threaten the rectal thermometer again if he was going to keep refusing to be mothered.

Probably.

Opening the door, I shivered slightly upon being greeted by the dry cold air. After debating after another moment I decided to grab my scarf and wrap it around the lower half of my face and pull it over my nose.

My boots crunched into the snow and I shut the door behind me. I examined the snow-covered streets—volunteering shinobi had already come through and used a combination of katon and fūton ninjutsu to clear the main street, but the snow just kept on coming. I then glanced up at the rooftops and debated on if I wanted to traverse the streets or rooftops.

Rooftops in Konoha were specially made to withstand the kind of special torture shinobi ruthlessly gave it. They were resistant to being chilled, so in most cases ice and snow never formed onto of them. With the current weather, though, it seemed that it had indeed been cold enough to freeze over the rooftops.

Undoubtedly there would be ice underneath all the snow on the streets as well.

I couldn't even use a variation of water-walking to glide across the snow. Snow, unlike its more liquid partner, did not like to cooperate with chakra and tended to explode or melt when in frequent enough contact with it. It would not be able to provide me with the adequate footing necessary to hop from one rooftop to the other.

Weirdly enough _ice_ was something we could use.

Water, ice, and anything of a solid mass that was _not_ snow.

I didn't entirely understand _why_ —it was just one of things that simply was, but had no scientific explanation as to _why_ yet. Perhaps in a decade or so, someone would find out and I would know then, for the moment, though... _c'est la vie_.

I then shrugged and decided to just truck through the streets, my boots crunching pleasantly on the snow and ice underneath.

The team was originally scheduled to meet earlier that day, but with Kakashi's illness that wouldn't be happening. Minato had also been assigned a solo mission that was of somewhat urgency. When we found out about Kakashi's sickness Minato quickly went off to tell Obito that today would be a day of relaxing, but when he returned home to pack for his mission, he told me that Obito still wanted to meet up with me to train.

It wasn't like I had anything better to do, so I agreed and there we were.

It was a brief trip to one of the training fields Genin were restricted to—roughly fifteen minutes of walking, which wasn't surprising considering we lived in the shinobi district.

I found Obito fidgeting nervously beside one of the many trees at the training ground, his hands behind his back.

When he noticed me, he nearly jumped.

"Oni-hime," he greeted me, his cheeks and nose red from the cold. "Here."

He thrust out a bouquet of roses towards me. I stared at them for a moment, feeling mildly confused. Hesitantly, I took them and asked, "What are these for?"

"Thanks," he said. "I wanted to thank you for... ya know... everything you've done for me."

 _Oh_.

That would make sense, I supposed. His mother was the most likely one to have suggested the roses as a thank you. The woman adored flowers and seemed to think everyone should.

For a brief moment, I was mildly worried it might have been more, but... Well, that would be ridiculous. I had first-hand knowledge of how _obsessed_ Obito was with that Rin girl. There was no conceivable way his obsession would switch over to me in a mere handful of months, regardless of what I had done for him.

"Thank you," I answered easily, smiling charmingly at him.

He grinned, looking relieved. "Phew. That felt way more awkward than it should have."

"I wouldn't think too much on it," I reassured him. "We'll be reaching the age of puberty soon enough, so we'll deal with it, then."

His cheeks looked redder, and I had a feeling it wasn't from the cold. "Anyway, we should probably get to it, yeah? What should we do today?"

"Have you finished your assigned texts?" I inquired.

He nodded firmly, proudly. "Yeah! Although I don' really see the reason to learn about history..."

"We must learn from others' mistakes," I reminded him. "How else can we better ourselves? Unless _you'd_ rather waste time making the same mistakes others have made."

He chuckled nervously, shifting uneasily under my withering glare. "Probably not?"

"Probably not _indeed_ ," I sniffed. "Well, since you have finished your texts... I suppose we could work more on our cooperation ninjutsu."

His face lit up at the mere idea of being able to set more trees on fire. "Great!"

"Mm-hmm," I responded pleasingly. I began stretching out, and Obito hesitated a moment before he followed suit.

"So, uh... the Chūnin exams are in a few months."

"Yes."

"My clan wants me to participate."

"I'm sure Minato will put our team forward. Kakashi and I earned the Chūnin rank at six, but because it was a battlefield promotion our promotion only works on the battlefield. We have not earned the _peaceful_ promotion, so we will have to partake in the exams in order to do so."

Obito frowned briefly. "That never made any sense to me. Not every Chūnin gets the rank through the Chūnin exams, so why do you two have to go through them?"

"True. Some shinobi prefer to take a private test after receiving their battlefield promotion. Ah... wait, do you understand the difference between a battlefield promotion and a peaceful promotion?"

"No," Obito admitted.

"A promotion earned on the battlefield is a promotion only useful on the battlefield in times of war. Because we are at war it easier to earn a battlefield promotion. These promotions are given to those who have shown they are capable of handling themselves and leading a team to success while at war. Being at war, and being at peace requires two very different skill sets, though. While someone is good at war, good fighting, killing, maiming, torture, even... those are only parts of the requirements to becoming a Chūnin. A _true_ Chūnin is a shinobi who can be of use in times of war _and_ in times of peace.

"Not every shinobi can do that, though. Not every shinobi can separate their war instincts with diplomacy, or tact. You can have the skill to be a Chūnin in a war, but not the skill to become a Chūnin in times of peace. This is where the separate promotions come to play. You can earn a promotion on the battlefield, but only on the battlefield does that promotion count. When the war is over, so is your promotion—"

"I still don't get it," Obito interrupted. "Why promote on the battlefield only when in war... and then have it go away?"

"Numbers," I answered simply. "We need more Chūnin than Genin, even if those Chūnin are in actuality only skilled Genin. There are variety of reasons, but it just boils down to the fact that Konoha needs more Chūnin in times of war than Genin. In times of peace Konoha can afford the luxury of properly grooming their Genin to Chūnin, but in war... As soon as someone shows _enough_ skill to _barely_ qualify as a Chūnin... But, because these war-time Chūnin only barely qualify, their promotion is only good through times of war. In order to keep their rank when the war ends, they need to prove they are at a _proper_ Chūnin skill level. Thus, peaceful promotion. These promotions can take place through the Chūnin Exams, or through private exams."

"Why haven't you and Kakashi taken the private exams?"

"Hokage-sama requested that I waited to until I could take the Chūnin Exams. Given my status, and who I am, once I reach the _proper_ Chūnin title I will assume my role as Senju Clan leader. This would require me to take part in the council, and Hokage-sama felt it would be best if I had more years under my belt before doing so. Otherwise I would have been on the council at the age of six, or seven... and let's be honest _that's_ a bit ridiculous. Of course, being on the council by the age of twelve is still pretty silly, but I can't postpone my promotion forever."

Obito stopped what he was doing and looked at me. "So... A bunch of Genin receive battlefield promotions so people can, what, feel better about using them as cannon fodder? So we look better on _paper_? To who?"

"Our enemies who intercept our messages, for example. They can't confirm the Chūnin at Outpost A are Chūnin level, or high-level Genin. They wouldn't want to risk sending shinobi too weak to deal with proper Chūnin, in case that is the case, but they cannot afford to send strong enough shinobi to deal with proper Chūnin frivolously. They only have so many shinobi and kunoichi who can handle that kind of encounter, and they should be saving them for facing our Jōnin or ANBU instead. It's a bluff, at times, but it's worked well enough so far.

"We also look better on paper to our clients, and to our Daimyo. Our Daimyo is much more likely to lend us support through money or supplies if he thinks we have the upper hand. Saying we have a large number of Chūnin at our disposal helps with that."

Obito shook his head. "That's... that's just... _wrong_."

I shrugged. "It also looks better when we send a squad of Chūnin to a suicide zone than a squad of Genin."

Obito balked. "We do that?!"

"Yes," I answered, thinking back to my encounters with the front line, and all the corpses of children, no older than eight... "We are child soldiers, Obito. Our village is militaristic, and we are at war. We don't have the luxury of being picky about who we send on missions anymore."

"But—"

I interrupted him, "It does no good dwelling on it now, Obito. Let us focus on our training."

Obito looked down, and for several moments it looked like he was about to say something. Each time he opened his mouth, however, he faltered upon seeing my impassive façade. "... Yeah... but... I get why _you_ are waiting for the exams, but why is Kakashi?"

I didn't have an answer for that, so I didn't respond.

Obito scratched the back of his head. "So... we should get started?"

"That would probably be for the best."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

That night, when I returned to Madara's side I found him dozing silently in his throne. My eyes softened for a moment as I stared at him.

Each winter Madara was drawn into a sort of hibernation that was difficult to awake from. Perhaps it was because of the Jūbi's original form—a God Tree—and that form was, supposedly, also known to go into a sort of hibernated state when cold enough. It was the husk of the Jūbi that Madara was connected to—his entire chakra was intertwined with remnants of the Jūbi's chakra. He often described it as having your fingers interlaced with a warm, malleable, soft substance. It hummed lazily with pure energy, and as it grew colder, the warmer and heavier it felt.

As with every winter I had had previously with Madara, I simply continued my training regime beside him. There was no need to attempt to further our plans through missions, as I did not know the next step. All of that information was with Madara, and without orders, I had nothing to do except train.

I had become competent with katon and fūton jutsus, and I had just barely scratched the surface of doton. Without the Sharingan, though, I had no way of knowing if I was achieving the correct ratios for new ninjutsu, so I would be unable to further advance my ninjutsu repertoire until spring.

Instead, I would be focused on my bukijutsu, namely my tensen (for Naasica) and scythe (for Madara).

I had the proper forms engraved into me, but what I really required was practice and experience in fluidly using them.

I carefully cut my finger along a sharpened branch from my tree that wrapped around Madara's throne. With ease I summoned Sensō.

The ghost-like creature emerged from the shadows around the cave.

_**Are you ready to bleed again?** _

I brought forth the scythe, beckoning towards Sensō.

It seemed to smile.

_**Try not to let me get another artery. They're so messy.** _

I smiled in return. "Try not to get too grumpy when I outlast you again."

Sensō cackled.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

When I awoke the next morning, it was to the gentle shaking from Kushina. My eyes opened slowly and I stared at her, awaiting for her to speak first.

"Kakashi-kun is still sick, and Minato is still away," Kushina said softly. "Why don't you head down to the mission office and see if you can help out with paperwork? It's too cold outside for you to train."

I wanted to object to the notion that weather was _too cold_ for a kunoichi to train in, but then my brain processed that the woman who ran hotter than 39°C on an average day was bundled up in a hat, gloves and scarf. I then realized that I had _many_ more blankets piled onto me than when I originally came to bed, and that my face hurt from the cold.

"That seems like a good idea," I muttered, already dreading the notion of getting out of my warm bed.

Kushina kissed my forehead and smiled. She placed my winter clothes in my lap as I sat up and shivered before she headed out of the room.

I changed as quickly as I could before heading out of my room. I stopped by Kakashi's room to check on him. He was still sleeping, but with mounds, and mounds of blankets on him and two small heaters placed in his room. The boy's face was still pretty flushed, but I liked to imagine I saw a bit more color on him today than yesterday.

Quietly, I shut his bedroom door and headed downstairs. I noticed that Kushina had pulled out many more heaters and the fireplace was lit. Kushina herself was busying herself with a pile of paperwork strewn about the kitchen table. She barely looked up at me when I moved past her to grab a cup of coffee to go.

I hated the fact that Konoha wasn't a tropical paradise the moment I stepped outside that door more than I hated _anything_ else.

I didn't mind the cold, really and truly. I was trained to endure through just about anything thanks to Madara. _However_ , -45°C with a strong wind of 12m/s and about 20cm worth of snow covering the _roofs_... It was just a little too much.

I understood that Konoha rested somewhere that would be the equivalent of a Midwestern state, as such it was treated to _hot_ summers and _bitterly cold_ winters at the drop of a hat. Even with the addition of chakra though, moving through something _that cold_ was pretty damn uncomfortable.

I knew I wasn't the only one thinking that way, because most of the shops weren't even open as I passed by them. Any stands or outdoor restaurants were probably closed for good until it warmed up enough, or (more than likely) Konoha's mission shinobi organized the seasonal schedule for clean-up shinobi.

While the police force would certainly clear out what they could, they couldn't be designated entirely to such a thing. And neither could shinobi and kunoichi be assigned to do such a task annually, because who the hell knew who was going to even be alive next year? As such, when it got cold enough and it became no longer possible to deny the fact that winter was here, the shinobi who assigned missions scrambled to get a bi-weekly schedule put together shinobi and kunoichi who would be dedicated to clearing roads and whatnot 24/7 (obviously they would work in twelve hour shifts).

It was a meticulous and bitter task, and unfortunately anyone who knew katon, doton, or fūton had a high likely hood of being assigned it (naturally katon users were especially unlucky during winter).

Never before had I been so grateful that as far as the village was concerned I was a lowly mokuton user.

I trudged through the snow, trying to make my way as quickly as I could to my destination.

Unsurprisingly, I passed by very few shinobi on my way to the mission desk. When I reached the mission desk, I let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully the building was particularly well-heated.

A kunoichi I didn't recognize smiled at me. "Senju-hime, it's a surprise to see you here."

"I would like to offer what assistance I can," I responded to her.

The young Chūnin beamed at me and gestured for me to follow her into the front room (where the missions were assigned; and occasionally where the Hokage would meet new Genin teams for their first mission). I was very surprised to see that Sarutobi was there, along with a handful of other Chūnin who were assigned to the mission desk. There were mountains of paperwork scattered about the long half-circle desk.

"Hokage-sama," the kunoichi began meekly, "may I borrow Senju-hime in the back to help me with scheduling?"

Sarutobi glanced up at me, and then at the clock (which read about 6:30am). "Yes. Thank you for coming, hime."

I dipped my head in respect. "I imagine many clients will be postponing their requests until the weather and roads have improved, so I bet you'll be focused on catching up with paperwork. I know Nee-chan is."

Sarutobi chuckled dryly. "Yes, Kushina-chan has a rather bad habit of procrastinating, doesn't she? I'm glad she's finally filling out her forms, and whatnot, but I wish she had turned it in when it was due months ago."

I couldn't resist smiling at that. Kushina had very poor tendencies when it came to almost anything academic. Minato had to fill out her taxes last year because she kept hissing at the form whenever he brought it up. I wasn't sure what started her aversion to paperwork in general, but it couldn't be helped now.

Bowing my head once more, I left the room, and followed the kunoichi into the back.

It was a spacious room with numerous shelves (that were filled with scrolls) and covered in a purple barrier (provided by the complex seal painted in the upper corner of each shelf). There were many couches, lounges, desks, tables, and candles strewn about the room and I could see dozens of tired shinobi and kunoichi bending over some scrolls.

 _Well,_ I thought, _this is going to be boring._

And it was.


	15. Us or Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fanart used was created by NovaLynne.

**Am I hurting? Am I sad?**

**Should I stay or should I go?**

**I've forgotten how to tell, did I ever even know?**

**-Bad Apple**

" _Can you fly?" I wondered._

" _No," Tsunade told me._

" _Grandmother said there were some who could."_

" _Yes," Tsunade told me._

" _Do you want to fly?"_

" _No."_

" _Why not?"_

_She smiled and pulled me close. "Because everything I need is on the ground, little sapling."_

_I closed my eyes._

Liar.

_. . ._

_. ._

_._

The first day our team was finally all together again in winter, it was a happy day.

The roads were consecutively cleared and missions started up once again around the village. The war had reached a shaky quiet upon reaching winter, and outright fights were becoming less frequently. All villages had reached a sort of unspoken peace to regroup, lick wounds, and prepare to fight even harder come spring.

As such, some teams were allowed outside the village for missions once more.

Some teams, like us.

Obito was grinning as bright as can be, and was hopping from one foot to the other. "This is so awesome! My first mission outside the village. I'm going to do _amazing_."

"Well," Kakashi said slowly, "I suppose idiots have to have high hopes or they would have nothing."

" _Oi_!" Obito exclaimed, filled with mock indignation. "You don't have nothing but hope, Kakashi. Have more faith in yourself."

I giggled at Kakashi's petulant face. Minato smiled at the three of us. "Alright, you guys. Are you ready to head out? Did you guys pack everything you need?" Obito gestured to his decently filled backpack, while Kakashi and I patted our sealing scrolls strapped to the back of our lower backs. Minato gave a firm nod and said, "Good. We'll meet up with our client Ni~tsu no Hikaru." *****

_The Sun's Light? The Land of Fire's main capital, where the Daimyo stays._

Ni~tsu no Hikaru was a golden city constructed before even the Senju clan was founded. Its ancient walls had been rebuilt and built over countless times, and you could still find stone housings mixed in with modern ones. It was a wealthy city, for the most part, as long as you lived in the center. The outskirts of the city was essentially one big red light district. Oh sure, during the day it was lit up and beautiful—all smiles and purr-filled greetings because the guards were watching to greet guests; but, when night fell yazuka and other ilk prowled the streets.

Each of the capital cities in the countries were well known for having a disgusting underbelly. Unfortunately, our capital's underbelly seemed to prefer child slavery and abductions (although the Land of Water was particularly well known for its sex trade in children).

Disgusting world.

 _Disgusting humans_.

Unlike me, Obito was oblivious to the notion of an underbelly and the very idea of being able to our country's capital seemed to send him over the moon.

Kakashi's nose crinkled underneath his dark scarf and we shared a look of equal annoyance.

"Stay close to us, okay, Obito-kun?" I leaned towards the young naïve boy, to which his cheeks turned a bit rosy (probably out of displeasure, as I was most certainly patronizing him). "We wouldn't want you to accidentally sell yourself... the poor buyer wouldn't know what he was getting into."

Obito just chuckled weakly, and looked away.

"How fast will we be moving?"

"Well," Minato said, glancing towards the snowy front gates, "I'd like to get there by noon, so we can have lunch with our client and go over the details, so let's keep a brisk pace."

"Understood," Kakashi said.

Minato tugged his bright, bright orange scarf around his neck (courtesy of one Kushina) before signaling for us to move.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The city reeked.

I was so accustomed to the fresh air Konoha provided that the moment I smelled Ni~tsu no Hikaru, I inwardly cringed. Judging from Kakashi's minute reaction, I could tell he didn't particularly approve of the stench, either.

It didn't smell like a particularly bad stench. It didn't smell like bodily odor, or rotten corpses, or really anything specific. It just had this overbearing and overwhelmingly strong smell of something unpleasant. The words failed me to assign it a single name. It was like an entanglement of just bad smells all mixed into one big bad stench.

The city itself was bright, and filled with thousands of paper lanterns and loud voices laughing, bargaining, flirting, and jesting. The sun was barely setting behind us (as the city was nestled in the distant east) and set the city in a warm winter glow. Hardly any snow was seen on the ground (indeed, you could only the snow on the roofs, and even then only on some). There were beautiful women and men intermingled, exchanging looks, and caresses along the sides of the streets.

A handful were seen being a bit more intimate that made me feel a _little_ tingly (which made me cringe as I realized puberty would be coming soon).

The three of us huddled close to our sensei, making sure our hitai-ates were clearly seen (yakuza and other unpleasant business tended to leave shinobi and kunoichi to their own devices, unless they wished an entire village sent down upon their heads like a blistering vengeance from hell).

I reached for Kakashi and Obito's hands, grabbing one in each. I knew they were capable shinobi, but some part of me worried for them nonetheless. Minato glanced back at each of us, assessing us before he began to silently move through the streets.

I took up the lead, pulling on both of their hands as I moved. I felt Obito's hand fidget while I gripped it in my bright orange mitten, while Kakashi's remained loose. He was used to having me drag him around from childhood, and as long as I let go of his hand when we met the client, he wouldn't complain too much.

I tried my best to memorize the streets that Minato lead us through, but I found that it was more difficult than I would have anticipated. With all the sound, stench, and general atmosphere, it felt all very intense.

With Madara's missions, and being left out of the war for months, it had allowed me to become accustomed to more isolated situations. While Konoha was a bustling village, I could easily avoid the worst of the traffic via rooftops, and I largely kept mostly to those I _had_ to interact with on a daily basis. When it came to Madara's missions, of course I just simply assassinated those in the way and I preferred to do it _quietly_ and _quickly_.

Here, though?

It was overwhelming. Being taught to be perfectly aware of your surroundings trained me to take detailed analysis over _everything_ near me, and categorize it. It as one thing to do this on a battlefield with adrenaline coursing through your veins, and (occasionally) your life on the line. It was a whole new kind of battlefield with the city, though.

At most, I would have to account for twenty, maybe thirty, unknown subjects or enemies. Here, though?

 _Hundreds_.

It was all unknown. It was foreign territory. I didn't know the layout of the city; escape routes; safety zones; hideouts; which buildings had explosives inside (you would be surprised how many people accidentally blow themselves up because of an ignorant katon); or even really what to do in an unsavory situation.

I had to trust in _Minato_ to guide us through the city.

At least during the war I was near _trees_. I could escape if need be—but where were the trees in this filthy city? Nowhere.

Furthermore, I had teammates to account for. It would be irresponsible for me to just leave them should an unfortunate situation arise.

I could formulate all the plans I wanted to, try to think of possible solutions, but each plan became discarded when Minato turned a corner and a new layout was given.

Having to adapt every fifty steps or so was becoming increasingly irritating.

And slightly frightening.

I didn't like going into unknown situations in unfamiliar areas. I very much appreciated having a detailed plan, with a backup plan, and a backup, backup plan within another plan, or something similar. Madara provided these for me, and I knew I could have faith in them.

My faith here, though?

It rested entirely on my own ability... and that of my sensei and teammates.

I knew I was strong. I was confident I could make it out of my own. But did I have faith for the rest? I thought I had been training Obito fairly well, and Kakashi was competent, but...

There was always that _unknown_ factor. The horrendous, terrible, _unknown_ variable.

What a petrifying word.

 _Unknown_.

Kakashi's hand squeezed mine rather tightly, and I had to restrain myself from startling. Instead, I glanced towards him and raised a small eyebrow. His eyes were flat, and face blank (the perfect shinobi mask for a mission), but I could feel a certain tension from his body language.

Concern.

My heart tightened and my stomach dropped, and I felt a surge of butterflies of embarrassment.

_Were my thoughts becoming transparent?_

Kakashi's hand pulled away from my own, and I realized that Minato had stopped outside a bustling restaurant. I released Obito's hand and pushed both of my hands in my pockets (trying to smother my blush still) while Minato stepped inside.

The three of us trailed behind him quietly, and I could feel the wonder practically oozing off of Obito as he took in the high-end classic restaurant. The serving girls were adorned in lush kimonos with painted faces. One of them bowed to greet Minato and our sensei stooped down and whispered in her ear.

She smiled angelically at all of us and turned away.

Minato cocked his head towards her and we followed her with Minato behind us.

She led us upstairs to what I assumed to be the VIP rooms, and into a private room with a balcony that overlooked the downstairs. A portly man sat on a mountain of rich red cushions, wearing nothing but the finest silks.

His face was sallow, though, and his eyes portrayed a level of greed I often saw in Madara's selected victims.

_Will I kill you, portly man?_

_Will you scream for me when I do?_

"Hello!" the man greeted enthusiastically. "Hello, hello, I'm so glad you could make it in time for dinner. Please, please help yourselves to whatever you would like. It is such an honor to have Konoha's very own hime come all this way to help someone like _me_."

I felt a rush of revulsion tingle down my spine, but I made sure to smile charmingly at the vermin. "Thank you for requesting me, _Tomodaichi-sama_."

The man positively beamed when I referred to him as a friend, his cheeks turning red and his eyes shining brightly. I knew in that instant that he really did request me specifically and that he hoped to garner some kind of positive relation with me.

I didn't recognize him, so I knew he was not someone of great importance and I was already dismissing him.

"I am Mitsu Masoto, I own a very large portion of farming land in this great country. Perhaps you have heard of it? Utsukushī?"

The name had me pause. Utsukushī was Konoha's largest provider for produce—perhaps the largest provider for the entire country's produce. Last I was aware though, Mitsu Moshu was the owner.

Feigning concern, I asked, "Did Moshu-sama pass away?"

Masoto's eyes gleamed. "Yes, unfortunately my father passed away a few days ago."

"We are terribly sorry for your loss, Mitsu-sama," Minato said quietly.

Masoto waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "This is not why I requested you here. If I wanted sympathy I would listen to my wife. Come, come, come, have a seat. Please, do you enjoy yourselves at dinner. We can discuss the mission after you have all rested—it's not of great hurry."

Minato bowed lowly and Obito and Kakashi were quick to follow suit. Given my status, I made sure to maintain a shallower bow 'lest I would give the fat worm more power over me than he had.

Minato was the first to take a seat across Masoto, followed by Obito, then myself, then Kakashi. The four of us managed to stay rather closely packed on one side, giving wide berth to Masoto.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"I understand you requested us for a search and retrieval mission," Minato began, after the dinner was finished.

Masoto slurped some more tea before clearing his throat. "My daughter has run away again."

I stiffened, feeling Kakashi and Obito do the same on either side of me.

Minato's brow furrowed, but that was the only overt sign of annoyance on his part. "Mitsu-sama, I thought you said that this mission wasn't time sensitive. The more time your daughter has—"

Masoto waved his hands. "Yes, yes, yes, Shinobi-san. My daughter has run away twelve times before, you see. It's not uncommon for her to disappear for a month or so and return begging for forgiveness. Indeed, if the circumstances were not as they were, I would be more than happy to turn another blind eye to her rebellious nature, but you see I am in a bit of a bind. My daughter is pregnant, you see, yes?"

That had me frowning.

"It's not with a proper boy, of course," Masoto snorted, his fat lips stretching into an ugly sneer. "But with some tramp, who ran off the second he found out. My daughter, my silly stupid daughter, ran off when we told her she couldn't keep the baby. Why would she even want the bastard? _She_ is purebred, and I am certainly not going to have my lineage carried on by some half-bred bastard because my slut of a daughter couldn't keep her legs crossed!

"We did our best to restrain her, but one of my servants foolishly took pity on her and stopped serving her the medicine to keep her sedated until the cretin could be removed. I know she couldn't have gotten too far from our estate in the city, she would likely still be feeling the effects of the medicine. Indeed, I know for a fact she has not left the city, hence why I am in no rush. You can understand why I would want her found and brought home by shinobi—you do such a thorough job and you're always so discrete.

"Won't you please be dears and bring her home to us so we can take care of her?"

I let the worm's words wash over me, let my emotions and bias rise up for a moment before I meticulously and systematically destroyed every last bit of them. It was so much easier than it would have been a couple years ago. I mean, really, comparing seeing rotting corpses of raped children on the frontline and retrieving a brat with (probably) daddy issues?

Easy.

Who gave a damn about some princess anyway? I had more important people—more _valuable_ people to be concerned with.

Smilingly easily, I chirped, "Of course, Masato-sama! Our Kakashi is actually quite handy when it comes to tracking. I'm sure we'll return her to you soon enough."

Minato smiled at Masoto. "If you don't mind, Mitsu-sama, my team and I would like to rest for the night and prepare to find your daughter."

Masato beamed. "Of course, yes, yes, yes. Please, there is a lovely inn attached to this restaurant and I went ahead and reserved a couple rooms for you. I will be staying in the top floor suit When you find my daughter, just bring her back to my suit and your mission will be done."

We bowed our heads in acknowledgement, then left the filthy man. As soon as we stepped outside the room, Obito asked uneasily, while looking up at Minato, "When should we start looking for her?"

Minato hummed. "Well, we should probably catch a couple hours of sleep, then start the search at dawn. I don't want any of you running around this city at night. At five hundred hours we'll split up into two. I will search on my own, and try to find my own leads. I want the three of you to work together to try to find her on your own. Understood?"

"Understood!" we chorused.

Minato smiled, although it wasn't as bright as it normally would have been. "We won't get a lot of chances for 'normal' missions, so it's important to learn as much as we can from this one. Report back here tomorrow before sundown, regardless if you do or do not find her."

"Understood," we chorused once more.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

We all bunked together in one room, Minato grabbing the bed while the rest of us spread out our sleeping backs. Come morning, when it was time to wake up, Minato was already dressed and ready to go, and had a handful of things for Kakashi to use as scent-bases.

Once he determined that we were able to move out, Minato left and the three of us began our search.

Kakashi took point, and he leapt across the buildings, pausing frequently to re-sniff some old scarf.

"Why not summon Pakkun?" I asked him.

"The city would be too distracting for him," Kakashi admitted. "The only ones that could probably handle the city are Bull and Tono, but Bull isn't a tracker and Tono is getting ready to have her second litter. I should be able to find her as soon as I have a decent trail. It hasn't rained, and the snow fall has been very light here, so it's really just a matter of time."

Obito grinned, though it didn't seem like a happy grin. "So we'll find her soon?"

"Probably."

"Lead the way, then," I said, fingering my tessen.

It took a few more hours before Kakashi found a fresh enough trail for us to follow. He lost it multiple times, and we had to backtrack more than once, but in the end...

"This is it," Kakashi said firmly. "I know she's inside."

I leaned over the rooftop, trying to peer inside a warehouse. We were on the outskirts of the city, and the atmosphere had already dramatically shifted from the warmth, and coyness in the center, to the filthiness of the outskirts. I felt instinctually unsettled upon looking at the warehouse. It didn't look eerie or disturbed on its own, in fact it looked like a regular warehouse with normal-looking workers going in and out of it carrying boxes or scrolls. I couldn't quite explain it—just that I felt a strong urge to burn it to the ground and scatter the ashes.

It was _wrong_.

Madara had taught me to trust in my instincts. They were honed and groomed to his liking. I had faith in my instincts.

But, I knew I could not just do what they wanted me to do.

"Something's wrong there," Obito muttered, unconsciously hugging himself as he looked down at the warehouse.

Kakashi nodded slowly. "Yeah. Whatever's going on in there—whatever's _really_ going on in there we have to be careful."

"Thankfully we have jurisdiction here, given that Konohagakure shinobi have the right to search any premise in this country."

"Well, not _any_ ," Kakashi corrected.

I rolled my eyes. Legally _any_ , but of course we tended to stay out of our Daimyo's way and anyone with his favor. Nothing good would ever come of angering our Daimyo.

"We shouldn't alert them, though," I said. "Obito, place a small genjutsu over us and the three of us will move in. We go in quietly, quickly, and decisively. Kakashi will take the lead to bring us to Orizumi. We grab her and we get out. No matter what we see, we do not respond. We do not act. Our mission comes first. Whatever else we find in there, we can report it to the proper authorities and let _them_ deal with it. _Do you understand, Obito_?"

Obito paled. "But—"

"If there are people in there in need, _leave them_ ," I whispered vehemently. "They are _not_ our comrades. They are _not_ part of our mission parameters. If you go outside of our mission parameters you risk endangering your _actual_ comrades and our mission. Do you want to place me and Kakashi in danger?"

"No!" Obito exclaimed, "But—"

"It's _us_ or strangers. It's as simple as that."

Obito's eyes watered and he looked away and down. I allowed him time to collect himself before I signaled for us to move.

The moment the genjutsu was cast, Kakashi leapt down from the roof and we slipped into the warehouse.

There weren't very many workers there, most of them were milling around and laughing merrily. Kakashi deftly moved between the stacked packages and lead us to the far back right corner of the warehouse. There was a small door in the flooring, but it held no locks or any easily seen security seals.

Kakashi examined it a few times over before he glanced to me. _Seals?_

 _Zero seen,_ I signed back.

Kakashi nodded his head and lifted the door open and dropped down.

Down the basement we went. Down, down we went into the dark hole. Slowly painted walls faded into cracked concrete and the lighting dim as we traveled. We went down, at most, two stories into the ground. Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, I felt Obito's genjutsu waver and I reached out a hand to steady him.

He looked sick. He had never been to the frontlines, never seen the true horror of war, unlike me and Kakashi. To compare what that basement held to war... Well it was like comparing roadkill to a horrific crime scene. Both unpleasant, sure, but that basement was nowhere near the level of perverseness that the frontlines held.

There were numerous women chained to the walls, resting on a dirty mattresses. There were even a few children, and two young men. Each held a certain vacant gaze that made me positive they were under some kind of drug. None of them looked too banged up—some bruises, certainly, but no gashing wounds or oozing eye sockets.

There were some dried bloodstains scattered about, along with many rags. I did notice a rotting corpse in the far back corner that looked like it had been stomped to death.

All in all, could have been worse.

I glanced towards Obito, and saw a grimace on his face. I squeezed his shoulder and he looked over at me.

 _See target?_ He signed towards us.

Kakashi gestured to one of the women chained to the far right wall. The three of us quickly leapt towards her, and Obito released his genjutsu.

She had to be in her mid-twenties, with long black hair and glassy brown eyes. She wore ragged clothing, and had a handful of bruises covering her arms. There was a pool of dried blood where she sat, and it covered most of her inner thighs. Obito looked at me. "Are you going to examine her?"

"I could," I allowed, "but you need practical experience as well, Obito. You examine her."

Obito swallowed roughly before he dropped to one knee and began to tentatively poke at her. None of us were skilled enough to actually use medical ninjutsu, but we all had basic training in first aide (although I was pushing Obito for learning a bit more due to his more _helpful_ nature). A minute ticked by before he looked up at Kakashi and me.

"Well?" Kakashi asked.

"She's under some heavy sedatives, and she has a broken rib, I think," Obito began hesitantly. "I, uh, I also think she might have had a miscarriage. Because of the, uh, blood, and, ah, where i-it's coming from."

"Or she was raped," I said bluntly. "She could have hemorrhaged if they used her an—"

Kakashi interrupted me, as Obito was slowly turning into an ashy white. "Can she be moved, Obito?"

No words could make it out of the shaky boy's mouth, so he simply nodded.

"Then let's grab her and go," Kakashi said brusquely. "We can report the rest of this to the authorities."

Obito rapidly shook his head. "No, wait, we can save them _now_. If we wait to go to the authorities, they could—they could—"

"Obito, we talked about this," I said sternly. "We cannot—"

"We _can_ ," Obito insisted. "Look, no one upstairs has a chakra level higher than a, ah, a, ah, Genin fresh out of the academy. I saw it with my Sharingan, I kn-know we can take them. We have to save these people!"

"That's not our mission," Kakashi said, shoving his hands in his pocket. "If we try to save this many people without all the information, we could seriously endanger our target and ourselves. This isn't Konoha, and these people aren't—"

" _They're still people!_ " Obito yelled. "They still have family, friends, people that love and miss them. Y-You can't just, just turn away from these people who need help. You aren't some heartless monster, are you?!"

Kakashi and I exchanged long looks.

_Monsters, maybe, but that's not the point. We have no idea who leads this group, what these people are specifically, and who exactly we're facing. Sure the thugs upstairs we could take without any fuss, but what if there are more nearby? More that are stronger than us?_

_Not to mention getting this many people out of here... It would be a huge liability. We would have to take them to the Samurai, and that's quite a ways away across the city. A city that_ we _are not familiar with, but our enemies are. It's nothing but disadvantageous for us to do, and_ extremely _risky. There's just no logical reason to even try. Just because we_ want _to help, doesn't mean we_ should _._

My gaze met Obito's, bright oranges eyes meeting determined Sharingan. "Then do something about it. You have five minutes."

"Wh-What?"

"You have five minutes to come up with a damn good plan to escort all these people to the Samurai—to the City Guard. We do not know how many enemies there are. We do not know which group these people are affiliated with. We do not know the layout of the city. We do not know how long these people will be under the sedatives, or if they will wake up mid-way through and start panicking. We do not know _anything_.

"You want to be Hokage, right? Prove yourself, then. Because Kakashi and I can't see a safe way to do this without needlessly endangering our client. How are you even going to transport these people? They can't even walk. Well, Obito? What's your answer?"

Obito's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, and then he abruptly shut his eyes and screwed up his face in thought.

I counted the seconds. I made it to two-hundred and ten before his eyes snapped open. "I know what we can do."

"Well?" I asked.

"You can make the mokuton clones to carry them all, right?"

"I could," I responded levelly.

"I'll create an aoe genjutsu to cover all of us! We'll travel through the rooftops."

"No," Kakashi denied flatly. "You can barely keep up the genjutsu over just the three of us.

"I can do it," Obito insisted. "I know I can. Just—just trust me, okay? I won't let you guys down, I swear. I swear on my promise to becoming Hokage, _I won't fail_."

Kakashi and Obito stared at each other for several moments, while I internally sighed.

_I could just knock him out and Kakashi and I could sneak out with our target._

_But he would_ never _forgive me and working with him would be wasted effort._

_In fact, all my effort thus far to train him would be a complete waste if he became unable, or unwilling to work with me. All for what? Because we didn't stop natural selection from happening to some idiotic trash that got caught?_

_Not. Worth._

But _, if we allowed him to try—and he_ failed _—then he wouldn't have anything against us. Moreover, he'd probably be more inclined to listen when Kakashi and I tell him_ not _to do something. If the situation looks bad enough, I'll just throw the vermin at whoever is chasing us like meat shields, grab Obito and transport the hell away._

I let out a put-upon sigh. "Alright, Obito. Kakashi, you alright to try this?"

Kakashi shifted his stance, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. Silence fell upon our group once more, excluding the occasional moan from the inebriated prisoners. After around two minutes, he finally spoke. "Our priority is our mission. We are _not_ jeopardizing it for these people. Therefore, I will take our target and return her to our client. I think it would be best if you two waited until I returned for Minato-sensei, but I understand that time could be a crucial component to the success of this... detour."

Obito's eyes lit up and his mouth slowly opened in disbelief. "Wh— _Wait_ you mean...?! I won't let you down! I swear! Oni-hime and I will save all this people, no doubt about it. We may even get them to safety before you reach the client."

Kakashi stared at Obito evenly, his arms still folded across his chest. There was an unrecognizable underlining tension in his posture and gaze that left me feeling a little confusion. Obito seemed to sense it, however, because his back straightened and his Sharingans hardened into a new kind of resolve. An unspoken conversation happened between those two, one that threw me for a loop.

"I won't let anything happen," Obito promised quietly.

Kakashi gave a slow nod. "I'll trust you enough, then." He then reached towards me and grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it. "Stay safe. I'll find you guys with Sensei."

I cocked my head, still feeling a little befuddled from the previous silent conversation. Obito stopped down and grabbed at one of the chains in the wall that held the girl prisoner. He held the chain up to his mouth before breathing out a short line of fire that slowly melted it. He repeated the process for the other three chains that held her, and then Kakashi stooped down and slammed the palm of his hand on the ground.

In a puff of smoke, Bull appeared, looking massive as ever. I summoned some rope from my scroll pack and Kakashi and I safely tied her to the back of Bull.

The three of us exchanged quiet glances, and then Kakashi and Bull were heading away, off to complete the mission.

Obito took a deep breath, and then summoned two clones. The three of them set about to burning off the chains, and as soon as each individual was freed, I made two wooden clones per person and got ready to carry them. All in all, there were roughly twenty three people that had to be rescued, and it was a fairly large group.

Aoe genjutsus (Area of Effect Genjutsu) were weak and very basic genjutsus. They weren't used often because a shinobi worth his salt could see through it without missing a beat. For civilians and inexperienced mercenaries, though, it was more than enough. Given the chakra levels (and while I was certainly not a sensor, I could most certainly feel the difference of refined chakra versus clumsy chakra, especially so short range) of the idiots above, an aoe should be more than enough to leave the warehouse. Traveling the streets, though, would be another story.

The city was a bustling place, and undoubtedly we would run into fellow shinobi and certainly not all of them would be friendly, or neutral.

When I voiced this out loud, Obito paused long enough to turn to me and say, "We aren't going to travel on the streets in the open, hime. That'd be just stupid."

My eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"We're going to take the sewer system, of course."

"Do you even _know_ the sewer system?"

"Well," Obito drawled out, "not really, but we just need to get to the center of the city, yeah? Once there, we can leave the people in the sewer with your clones, and the two of us can go grab some samurai and they can take care of the rest."

"I suppose that's true," I allowed, "but how are we going to navigate the sewer system?"

"That history textbook you gave me—the one about the revolution between the farmers and the shogun, do you remember it?"

" _You do_?"

Obito blushed and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "You made such a big deal about knowing this stuff, and I—I didn't want to let you down after all you've done for me, so I try really hard to remember all the things from the books. It takes a couple tries, I'll admit, but... I just don't want feel like I failed you."

My stomach flip-flopped pleasantly and my cheeks warmed before I could control my reaction. Surprisingly, my reaction caused Obito's face to turn a brighter shade of red and turn away and start coughing. I did my best to quickly squash down those emotions, and succeeded about a minute later.

Obito returned to freeing the victims and once everyone was free, and in the arms of my clones, we gathered the group as tightly together as we could. Obito placed a wavering aoe over us, and we ran up the stairs of the warehouse.

There was a tense moment at the top of the stairs when a group of workers were by the stairs.

In the back of my mind, I wondered why there _weren't_ any guards placed, or why we didn't find any powerful shinobi.

Or hell... why there weren't any locks or seals (that I saw) on the door. It just seemed too easy. I knew people grew complacent when they felt confident (such as people with security systems forgetting to lock a silly window because they thought they were safe), but really... just drugs and chains?

Still, I didn't sense any over threat (otherwise I would have vetoed Obito regardless), and I knew we could move pretty fast so it shouldn't take more than ten minutes or so of top-speed running to reach the "safe zone."

Once outside, it didn't take us long to find a manhole cover and Obito grimaced as his he had to struggle to keep the genjutsu up. The cover was down a small alleyway, so it wasn't a busy street thankfully, and as soon as everyone was inside the sewer he could drop the genjutsu.

I was the last one to drop into the sewer, and just as I was about to pull the manhole cover over me, I felt an intense wave of killing intent. I barely had time to throw myself into the sewers and away from the hole before a long sharp blade pierced through where I had just been.

I flipped through the air and landed on my feet, my posture shifting into a prepared stance while Obito ran towards me.

Two unknown men dropped down into the sewer hole, both in a kind of uniform. It was a dark blue yukata with the crest of a cosmos flower on the black obi. Each of the unknown males had mask—one was black with a blue cosmos flower covering its right eye, while another was white with an orange cosmos flower covering its left eye.

I quickly assessed at the blue flower individual was the one who wielded the longer-than-usual sword, given that the scabbard was strapped to his side. The orange flower one wielded two cleavers that he currently held out.

Their chakra felt refined, and tight, like Minato-sensei's and I knew in that moment that they were Jōnin level, at the very least.

For a brief moment, I felt nervous (and most definitely angry at Obito), but I steeled myself in the next heartbeat. I became resigned to the upcoming fight.

"Gone for only an hour and our merchandise has already been plundered," Blue drawled.

"By brats, of all things," Orange grunted, gripping his cleavers tightly. "Return the slaves and we'll end your lives quickly, and painlessly. Make it hard on us... well, virgins always go for the highest."

Obito's face flushed with rage and I pulled out my tessen. "Leave, Obi. The hostages are a liability here if we fight. I will meet up with you later."

"I can't—"

"You made your choice," I retorted coldly. "I warned you of the consequences, now follow through with what you chose. You chose them, over our mission, over the safety of our team. Keep to your word and don't fail. Leave. Now."

"That's not f—"

I channeled some of my own killing intent on him, and he quieted. Thinking he would leave then, I returned my focus to the two enemy Jōnin.

And Obito did something unexpected.

One Shadow clone came into existence and the real Obito came by my side and said, "I won't ever leave comrade behind. The clones can make it there. You and I will take these bastards on!"

_Obito would just be a—_

_"... so I try really hard to remember all the things from the books. It takes a couple tries, I'll admit, but... I just don't want feel like I failed you."_

I gripped my tessen in my hand, and I felt a surge of—of—of _something_. Of something I did not want to acknowledge, because I just, I just, I just wasn't ready to. I wasn't ready to admit emotions that I didn't have full control of because I _needed_ to be able to control how I felt. If I couldn't control that—if I couldn't manage myself, then what good was I?

I would be a failure—a waste of time and energy spent—and—

Okay, I knew I was going to have to face _those_ emotions eventually. They were biologically part of growing up, and there just was no safe way to emotionally, and physically castrate oneself without hugely disadvantageous side effects.

That didn't mean I was just going to _accept_ what was happening.

Nope.

No, no, no, _nono. No_.

But, because this was a battlefield and that moment was _really_ not the time to get into _those things_ , I put that aside, straightened my back and hissed out, "Fine."

Blue leapt towards me, his sword swinging down upon me and my right arm raised up, transforming into wood as he brought it down. The sword became embedded halfway through my arm and my eyes narrowed.

His right hand shot out and grabbed my left shoulder, lightning chakra flaring to life and I felt and overwhelming burning sensation crawl throughout my body, and my heart was beating _way_ too fast. In the same instant I raised my left arm and grew out my right arm so my tessen slammed into his right elbow, forcing it to bow. My left hand grabbed the end of my tessen and pumping my arms with chakra I flipped him to the ground.

He instantly substituted himself with a nearby rock and I took the moment to calm my heartbeat.

I felt a fire lit up behind me and I knew Obito was engaged against the cleaver man.

I swung out my tessen with my wooden arm and spikes shot out from my arm towards Blue. Blue leapt up into the air, dodging them with relative ease and made quick cross motions in the air with his sword. Lightning was left in his sword's wake and the jutsu shot towards me faster than even Sensō could move.

The area was too wide for me to safely dodge, so I raised my left hand up and summoned a thick tree from the ground to shield me. The first jutsu demolished half of my tree and I shot out from the right side of the tree as the second jutsu destroyed it. I opened my fan used it to shield my face as a pin-point lightning strike, no bigger than a needle, raced to me. It deflected the attack well enough and, anticipating the oncoming attack, I brought my tessen diagonally down.

Blue's sword was caught up by the force of my tessen and Blue's eyes widened briefly in surprise that I anticipated his movement. The sword was forced to slide by me on my left side while Blue was brought closer to me. He raised his left hand in preparation to attack my vulnerable right side (as I had used my right hand to deflect the sword and my left hand was currently gripping onto his left forearm), but I was as step ahead of him.

Using speed garnered from adrenaline and years of practice, I closed my tessen and swung horizontally straight towards his vulnerable neck channeling charka, just as his left fist slammed against my throat, collapsing my airway.

My chakra tessen sliced neatly through his neck and off his head went and I dropped to the ground, choking.

My right finger transformed into a hollow stick and I jammed into my airway below my neck, right before it connected into my lungs. My left hand scrambled to grab my pack, while my head spun and I summoned the emergency kit. I grabbed the breath seal (a seal used to get air into the lungs and pumping when airway is blocked—shinobi came up with _that_ seal before insulin was even considered for allergy attacks). I attacked it to my makeshift straw and felt immediate relief when it began sucking in air and filling up my lungs.

Although it was still a pretty unpleasant sensation to be breathing while not breathing.

I looked around and found a battered up Obito clutching a bleeding arm while panting. Orange was hovering over him, burn marks covering his entire left arm (which was still bleeding profusely).

I slapped my hands on the ground and a wooden dome surrounded myself and Obito. I fluctuated my chakra pumped my needle jutsu with about half of what I had left. I heard the sound of thousands of needles digging into the concrete of the sewer around us, but not much else.

When I lowered the dome, I was relieved to find that Orange hadn't quite escaped.

It was a nasty jutsu, but a damn effective one. I couldn't have used it previously (unfortunately) with the Blue constantly so close to me, and the vermin we had rescued. I couldn't, yet, make domes big enough for more than two or three people (the domes required the most of my chakra for that jutsu, as it required three layers. The first layer, the innermost layer, being the connecting layer. It was the layer that my chakra was latched onto and allowed me to remotely control it. The second layer being the defensible layer which required a good chunk to prevent it from being smashed into splinters so easily. And lastly, the third layer which required a large portion of my chakra as I had to provide chakra for each individual needle spike, connect them all together so they appeared as part of the wall, then provide the trigger chakra.

I didn't have mastery over the jutsu, either, so I didn't have complete refined chakra control over it. At the moment it took roughly half of my stores to safely execute. I knew in time I could probably pop it out like Naruto's shadow clones, but for the moment...

Obito shot towards me, his eyes wide and watery. " _Hime!_ "

I waved my hand dismissively. I signed, _Certain dead?_

He faltered, his eyes still watering before he swallowed roughly and went to check the bodies. While he was doing that I summoned forth two corpse storage scrolls, and wrote Blue and Orange on each of them. Obito turned around, and said, "Cleaver guy doesn't have a pulse."

I staggered over— _ah this breathing thing is not giving me enough air, this sucks_ —to Blue and spitefully crushed his lungs. I then picked up his head and stored it inside the first scroll. I made my way to Orange and cut off his mangled head and store it inside the second scroll.

 _Leave now,_ I signed.

"I can carry you," Obito offered, swallowing roughly. "I—I'm just—I'm sor—"

 _Made, choice._ I dismissed, already turning away and wobbling down the sewers.

"Then I'll take responsibility," Obito shouted behind me, then he charged at me, and deftly picked me up. "You can't walk like that—we—we have to hurry and find sensei."

I shrugged. _Hurry._

Obito nodded his head in response and then he broke out into a sprint.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

We made it to the surface roughly ten minutes later (and my clones were destroyed earlier when they reached the Samurai and explained the situation). I had no idea what happened to the vermin after that, nor did I give a damn.

As soon as we broke through to the surface, Minato and Kakashi were immediately upon us in a flash of gold.

Obito set me down, looking shame-faced as soon as Kakashi's gaze caught his.

I felt rather light-headed and I glanced over towards Kakashi's pale face.

When I saw Kakashi's eyes, and his tense posture, I just—I felt— _nononononononononononono. Not another one. Not both! Goddamn you hormones!_

My stomach clenched tightly and I felt a little woozy and I had an unbelievably strong urge to reach and grab onto his hand like I did frequently when we were smaller, and _oh_ he actually looked _kind of nice and—No. No. No._

Kakashi reached out and gripped my shoulder tightly, dark eyes looking me up and down while I battled my hormones in an uphill battle for control over my own body.

I didn't win.

I blushed and looked away from his gaze, rolling my shoulder out of his grip.

 _This is just wrong. Body, please keep up with my mental maturity at the very least_.

Minato turned me around to face him, his eyes resting on the emergency seal and the straw poking out of my neck. His lips were pursed. "Kakashi and I have already sorted out the mission. We're leaving for Konoha now. How long will the seal last?"

 _Two_ , I signed.

Obito's face whitened. "We won't make it back to Konoha in two hours!"

"Yes, we will," Minato reassured him. "And besides, I know Kakashi and I have more of those seals in our packs. Everyone gather around, I'm going to transport us to the hospital. I'll take care of hime, Kakashi and Obito I want you to give an oral report to the Hokage on your little... detour, as well as the mission."

I cocked my head then handed Kakashi the two storage scrolls that had their heads. _Bounty, mine, please?_

"I'll see if they have a bounty for you," Kakashi promised.

I beamed at him. I wasn't hurting for money, but it certainly added to my prestige if I collected in on powerful shinobi bounties.

As soon as that was taken care of, Minato gathered all of us around and in a flash of blinding yellow light and ( _oh_ what a dizzying sensation) a _pop_ , we (the children of the team at least) collapsed on the first floor of the hospital.

I fell back on my bum, the room spinning around me and I felt ready to throw up, which would likely be very painful if I did. My ears were ringing and it took several moments before I could gather myself enough to take note of my surroundings.

By the time I did so, I already had a gushing nurse lift me up onto a gurney with a plethora of concerned onlookers questioning _What happened to hime? Is Senju-hime okay? Oh, no, Senju-sama!_

I looked around for my team, and found a doubled-over Obito clutching his gut, with a seething Kakashi glaring at him, and Minato stepping in between.

Then a doctor I vaguely recognized came over to me and knocked me out.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

When I awoke, it was very late on in the night and I felt immensely groggy. I reflexively swallowed, and I was relieved to find that while it was very sore (like swallowing sand with severe strep throat sore), I once again had a repaired airway and esophagus. I sat up in the bed and rubbed at my bandaged throat, taking note that my room was already filled with flowers, get-well cards, and a couple cute stuffed animals (a dog and bat).

I even noticed that my favorite plush bat was resting in my lap and I immediately grabbed it and gave it a good squeeze.

My stomach growled and I threw back the covers of my hospital bed (which made me a bit woozy—probably just aftereffects from a long surgery) and opened my window. I took a brief moment to change into clean clothes that had been left for me. Thankfully whoever left me the clothes (likely Kushina) also left me my pouch that had some money in it.

Now changed and feeling particularly hungry, I hopped out of the third story, walked down the wall and headed off to find any restaurant with something soft to eat.

It was still bitterly cold, unfortunately which made it painful to breathe, but there was just no way in hell I was eating the tofu hospital food. Yes, it really was tofu. Tofu and tofu only. Healthy or not, bland tofu just did not taste good.

Roughly fifteen minutes of looking and I finally found an open bar. I hopped inside, garnering some looks of recognition, and wandered up to the bar.

Once you had a hitai-ate you were legally an adult, regardless of biological age. Konoha's outlook on alcohol and other substance was this: old enough to die for us, old enough to do whatever the hell you want.

The bar owner I actually did recognize, mostly from his signature. He was one of Grandma's regular guards, and he occasionally dropped my training sessions and Kushina's house to check up on me (without being seen, of course, like many of Grandma's old guards). He was in his late forties, early fifties, with marred face, but attractive green eyes and a gruff way about him.

"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Shinta grunted at me, watching me carefully.

I waved my hand dismissively, then patted my stomach.

"Tofu is good for you, though," he pointed out. My eyes narrowed and he chuckled. "Alright. Some food, and then I'm taking you back to the hospital. Wouldn't want our little hime getting worse."

I stuck my tongue out at him in a completely childish fashion. I felt vaguely affectionate towards the man. Anyone who reminded me of happier days with Grandmother tended to hold my affection, especially someone who had served her for almost all his life.

Shinta moved away from me, and tended to other customers around the bar. It was a rather quiet night, but given shinobi hours, a bar was almost always filled regardless of the time. Soon enough I found both seats beside me taken by fellow shinobi and kunoichi who had either gotten home from a bad mission, back from road maintenance duty (and boy were they unhappy about that), or just having a bad day.

Shinta brought over a luke-warm egg soup, and luke-warm herbal tea. While I didn't enjoy luke-warm meals, I knew that they couldn't be too warm because of my raw throat. Even with just drinking very soft and mostly liquids, my throat ached something fierce. It was nice to fill up, though, and I appreciated his mindfulness.

I placed some money on the counter and Shinta spoke a few quick words with a couple shinobi. He then came out from behind the bar, ruffled the top of my head and walked out of the war.

Taking the hint, I followed after him.

"Must have been a hell of a mission to get the drop on you," Shinta commented.

I shook my head. _Faster_.

"The enemy was just faster than you?" Shinta mused, looking mildly impressed. "I suppose it happens.

_Had, defensive, all time. High risk, finish._

Shinta nodded, scratching his right cheek. "Yeah, when you face someone faster than you, you have to play defensive. Any kind of offense would be risky. Surprised, though. From what I remember during the war you could still—"

_Teammate, hostages._

"Ah," Shinta muttered. "Yeah, I suppose your attacks are rather... explosive to those around."

I nodded my head.

Shinta made a _hmph_ noise and we traveled back to the hospital in relative silence. When we got there, he patted the top of my head again before he left.

I climbed up to my hospital room, shut the window (and locked it, of course), climbed into bed and fell asleep.


	16. Chūnin Exams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My friend Ann-chan17 (deviantART) made this rather fitting artwork. :)

**Can I take another step? I've done everything I can.**

**All the people that I see, I will never understand -**

**if I find a way to change, if I step into the light -**

**then I'll never be the same, and it all will fade to white.**

**-Bad Apple**

_Don't leave me._

_Don't leave me._

_Don't leave me._

_Don'tleaveme._

_Don'tleaveme._

_Do_ _**n'tl** _ _ea_ _**vem** _ _e._

_**DO** _ _N'TLE_ _**AVEM'TL** _ _EAV_ _**EME.D** _ _ON'T_ _**LEAVEME** _ _._

_STOP_

_**LEAVING** _

" _Naa-chan, this is Dan. He's very special to me, so be good to him, ne?"_

_Just leave already._

_. . ._

_. ._

_._

I folded my hands neatly in my lap as I watched Kakashi deftly peel an orange for me. His winter overcoat was laid on the back of his chair which was brought up close to my hospital bed. It took only a few seconds for him to peel it with a kunai, and even less for him to set it in my hands.

"I can peel my own orange, you know," I rasped.

Kakashi gave me a withering look. "Come again, grandma?"

"My voice isn't _that_ bad."

"Are you deaf, as well?"

I rolled my eyes, choosing not to respond. Besides, it was still a little uncomfortable to talk. Even a full week after the surgery (and two more operations to reinforce and manage the regrowth of the tissues and muscles) I still had difficulty utilizing my throat, whether if it was talking, eating, or even breathing. The doctors informed me that I would be uncomfortable for roughly another month, but I would be discharged and allowed to continue to take missions in another day or so.

My eyes trailed down to the peeled orange and I nimbly took a slice and nibbled on it. Companionable silence filled the hospital room. I ate quietly and Kakashi relaxed in the chair, his eyes half lidded and his hands folded in his lap.

Moments like these reminded me a bit of our childhood (or did it still count as a childhood when were technically physically children, or did we lose the right to be called children the moment we purposely took another's life?). Neither of us were the conversational sort (unless it was politically or socially required of me, of course). We were practical, logical, and brusque.

The silence remained companionable for several minutes, long after I had finished the orange and then it got a little uncomfortable.

Not because of something we said, or did.

Because of It.

That monster I was in full denial of decided to rear its ugly little head and my traitorous body had a very, very disgusting thought: _He smells kind of nice._

That lead to other thoughts, thoughts I could not stop and the more I tried to _not_ think about them the harder it got. Within three minutes I was fidgeting with my blanket, struggling to keep the blush from growing on my face and I _knew,_ I _knew_ Kakashi could sense my unease which made him feel uneasy and that just added onto my own awkwardness...

Then I had an absolutely terrifying thought.

_Can Kakashi smell pheromones, yet? Does he know how to identify him? Can he tell I'm—?_

My heart stopped beating and if I were a lesser woman I would have started crying then and there at the sheer shame and embarrassment I felt.

Then my logical side slapped the hormonal side silly and said: _It doesn't matter if he can, or cannot. He knows what puberty is and he knows hormones aren't something that can be controlled._

Hormonal side: _But if he knows and he_ will _eventually what if he starts to, you know, reciprocate?_

Logical side: _He would never do that, he understands the importance of not dating on the team, and he also understands that dating prior to the age of sixteen as a kunoichi or shinobi is discouraged. Hormones in this world are much stronger than they are before the age of sixteen due to how chakra pathways develop oddly around the reproductive system. Around that time an individual's chakra can be used to dull, damper, or curb the hormones since the chakra points will typically be fully developed around the reproductive system and no longer add bursts of chakra to the systems._

Hormonal side: _Why am I attracted to someone so young?!_

Logical side: _You cannot control your body. Sexual attraction is based on the evolutional need to reproduce in most cases. He, and the others, are a viable candidate because you respect them, have the most contact with them, have developed some kind of emotional bond outside of the ties of family. You are equally attracted to Madara and Obito for the same reasons. It doesn't make you a pedophile, or some pervert._

Hormonal side: _Yes, it does!_

Logical side: _If you're just going to ignore all rational thought—_

Hormonal side: _I am! I can't stop it! Oh_ God _someone give me a sedative nononono stop daydreaming about_ that, _you stupid woman!_

I outwardly moaned and buried my face in my hands.

_I wish Madara was awake. He'd know what to do._

I just had another month and a half before spring. Another month and a half before the exams, most likely. I just had to bear through it. _I just had to bear through it._

Then, remembering that I had oranges in my lap, I began to eat them to preoccupy myself from my thoughts.

After ten minutes passed by my body relaxed and my hormones settled down enough that I no longer felt uncomfortable in Kakashi's presence. Once again, companionable silence filled the air until the door to my hospital room opened and Obito trounced in and my _stupid,_ _ **stupid**_ , body caused my dirty mind to have another perverse thought.

I choked back a sob as I buried my face in my hands again to hide my blush.

Obito looked at me weirdly and Kakashi glared at him. "Oni-hime, are you okay?"

I made a strangled squeaking sound.

_Humiliating. Utterly humiliating._

Kakashi placed a hesitant hand on my shoulder in what he probably thought meant as a comforting gesture, but it just kind of made me think again about how nice he smelt since had moved a _lot_ closer to do so.

"I need to hit things," I rasped out, lowering my hands and looking up at my teammates pleadingly. "Please. _Please_. Get me out of here."

Obito immediately shook his head. "No way. Kakashi would hit me again if I did _anything_ that even _might_ have negative consequences."

"So you _can_ learn," Kakashi sneered.

I slapped Kakashi's arm. "I warned you. If you two can't get along I will _make_ you."

Kakashi held up his hands in a gesture of surrendering. Obito smiled at us. "Well, I'm glad you seem to be doing a lot better, hime. I've been practicing my genjutsu with Kaa-chan, and I'm _hella_ pumped to show you what I can do next training session!"

"I'm sure you've improved," I told him. "I look forward to putting you in your place, though. Frankly, I'm not entirely sure you learned your lesson from our last mission."

Obito paled while Kakashi nodded his head.

"You chose strangers over Naasica," Kakashi muttered. "You risked our mission, _us_ , for—for some trash!"

Obito's eyes watered and he dropped his head. "I-I know... I'm sorry, guys. I promise I won't do it ever again. I didn't mean for you to get hurt, hime, I swear."

"I—"

Obito surged forward, his eyes bright with unshed tears— _Ah, he always will be a little too emotional won't he?_ —and grasped my hands in his own. This, of course, caused my heart to sped up and my cheeks to warm as my mind unwillingly filtered through every trashy romance novel I had read and compared it to the current scene. "Oni-hime, I swear I won't let anything like that happen again! I'll protect you with everything I've got and I'll become the most reliable teammate _ever_."

I squeaked. "O-Okay."

His eyes widened and shined. "Y-You believe me?"

Kakashi then dug his fist into Obito's side causing to immediately release my hands as he tumbled to the floor. In less than a minute he was already back up and fuming at Kakashi. "What the hell?!"

"She can believe all she wants," Kakashi said plainly, " _I_ don't, and I won't until you prove otherwise. I put _my_ trust in _you_ , Obito. You broke that trust, don't expect it to be earned back by some flowery words."

Obito's anger deflated at Kakashi's words, but that bout of depression lasted only a minute before his grin was back and every inch of him was brimming with determination. "I will, Kakashi! I swear."

"I know," was all he said.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

"Little sapling?"

Despite being cleared by the doctors at long ( _long_ ) last, Kushina was just as fussy as she was when I was in the hospital. It was why I was not surprised to find her hovering around me while I worked.

I paused in my calligraphy, carefully setting the brush down as to not disturb my work. I looked up from my desk, and over towards my door where I saw a red-faced Kushina shyly hiding it. Immediately curious I gave her my full attention and asked, "Do you need something, Nee-chan?"

Somehow her face became as red as her hair and she nodded her head sharply. Then, looking quite nervous, she rushed inside my room and slammed the door shut. She became even more nervous and she began to fiddle with the end of her hair.

I turned my desk chair around to face her, and placed my hands in my lap docilely. It took several minutes of silence before Kushina worked up the courage to squeak out her next few words. "Y-You took pr-proper etiquette classes, didn't you?"

"No," I answered. "Grandmother taught me some of what I know, and two ANBU assigned to her taught me the more physically demanding aspects, such as dancing."

_And Madara taught me the rest._

"B-But you know it, d-don't you?"

"Yes."

Kushina swallowed, took a deep breath then closed her eyes. Exactly three seconds passed before she blurted out (yelled, more like), "I need you to show me how to be a proper lady!"

That threw me for a loop. "Nee-chan, you're already a beautiful kunoichi."

"I-I never took the kunoichi classes," Kushina confessed. "I don't know how to act like a geisha or a _proper_ proper lady. You're always so composed, and you know how to tie all obis, and you know the flower language, and how to speak so well, and—"

It was a little amusing for a grown woman to be asking a child this.

Well. I suppose _technically_ I would be becoming a woman fairly soon. And she was correct, given my heritage, status, and ambition, I knew all the forms of acting like she described. She would call it acting like a proper lady, whereas I would call it geisha training, or demure kunoichi training. Most of the dances geisha used were similar to my tessen kata, and it was a wonderful exercise in learning grace and elegance in body language. Madara informed me that I would be required to redo the training every year as my physical form grew in order to maintain that level of grace that was expected of me.

I certainly didn't mind. I found the geisha and their dances to be quite beautiful. I could still remember Madara creating that exquisite genjutsu to show me his own encounters with those alluring woman. They were absolutely captivating and I understood if I could properly emulate those women in my day to day life as Naasica when I was an adult, I knew I would enthrall my clients and weaker politicians with just a few body movements—just a few steps.

But, that was still some ways off.

Returning to the point, though.

I received the training, and Kushina did not. Likely she did not see its usefulness, and even the kunoichi class did not cover much more than how to serve tea, and a bit of the flower language.

"Why do you need to know this now, Nee-chan?"

Kushina took another deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Minato's grandfather—"

Minato's parents passed away when he was little, so he was left in his paternal grandfather's care. His grandfather was a veteran shinobi who retired a couple years ago. I had never personally met the man, but from what I gathered from the instances Kushina had met the man, he was a very traditional man.

He disapproved of Kushina and Minato living together without being married, and to a certain extent disapproved of Kushina. I didn't know if it was because she had made a bad impression, the living situation, or if he was just a generally disliking person.

"What about him?" I asked dubiously.

She took yet another deep breath. "I'm going to formally ask him to become part of the Namikaze family."

No amount of training could prevent my eyes widening and my jaw dropping. "Wh-Wha- _at_? That's—why do you care if he cares?"

"I know Minato is going to ask me soon," Kushina quickly said, her words coming out so fast they almost blended together. "I think he's going to ask me after everyone has become a Chūnin which will likely just be a couple months away. I know his grandfather won't stop that, but I know he loves his grandfather very much, and it would mean the world to him if he approved. Namikaze-san is a very traditional man, and I think if I go to him as—"

"If this was me asking, you would just tell me to be myself and he would just have to deal with it," I interrupted.

"I don't really _care_ about that," Kushina dismissed. "I want to make Minato happy, and this will make him happy. It won't hurt me or anyone else, so why not? And while i-it's embarrassing, I know I can do it. I just... I don't know how. S-So can you help me?"

I shook my head in amusement. "Oh, Nee-chan, of course I will. When do you have to meet him?"

"The sooner the better. If you could just—just show me how to properly serve tea and, and, and maybe a ceremony?"

"Of course, Nee-chan. I take it you'll want to keep this from prying eyes?"

She nodded her head vehemently.

I smiled. "Grab your best kimono and I'll meet you at the Senju compound. I'll have to purchase a few supplies first."

She moved faster than a falling star.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

"So you want to present yourself more as a," my lips twitched, " _proper_ lady over a kunoichi?"

Kushina nodded her head firmly. We sat in a smaller wing of the compound, one that I rarely crossed by in my youth because it served as an indoor training arena. "That old geezer knows I hit harder than anyone in this village, but he compares every woman to his late wife. I guess she was this perfect woman who could dish out an ass kicking, and then make some crazy delicious meals."

"I think that sounds just like you, Nee-chan," I loyally said.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Look, if I—if I can just show him th-that I can be a proper _proper_ lady then I know he'll approve of me and Minato! Then he'll come to the wedding and Minato will be _super_ happy."

"Super?"

" _Super_."

I shook my head again. "First thing first for you, I think, will be choosing the makeup." Kushina's face immediately scrunched up at that. "The current fashion is a full cover face paint for court ladies, not unlike geisha. Because you have a tendency of wiping everything off your face, though, we may try for something a bit different. I'll try a half paint on you, or a simple brush over."

"It feels weird," Kushina complained.

"Suck it up," I chirped, "I'll do the full face paint on myself so you can see what it would look like and you can choose between what I'll do on you (half paint), or me. Whatever you think will please the old man."

"Okay," Kushina said slowly.

I handed her a rubber cap. "Tuck all your hair into that so it's out of the way. Hair will be done last."

Kushina nodded and did as I instructed. I pulled my own hair into it. I then summoned two clones to put the makeup on both of us. Kushina squirmed uncomfortably, and more than once I had to lightly scold her to make her sit still.

It took a bit longer for the clone to finish putting the paint on my face, as it required covering my entire face and neck in creamy white paint. When the clone finished with Kushina, Kushina's eyes were large as she watched the clone put makeup on me.

"You look so different!" Kushina exclaimed, as I closed my eyes for the clone to put red paint over them.

"Have you even looked at yourself, yet?"

Kushina let out a gasp as she realized she had not. She then scrambled to find a mirror in her bag. By the time she pulled it out, the clone had already finished my lips and I was done.

"Sweet King of Ramen," Kushina uttered as she stared at the mirror.

I thought she looked beautiful.

Then again I thought she looked beautiful without the makeup, too. She was just a beautiful person. Anyone that filled with life, love, and light, had to be shining with beauty. Everything about Kushina was gorgeous and captivating.

I examined the makeup, and gave a firm nod of approval. It would be my previous life's equivalent to a _brush up_ or light coverage. Just enough to hide away any scars, or blemishes, while adding an appropriate portion of color around the eyes and lips. Dark blue seemed especially nice around her eyes—just a small amount, though.

"I look pretty," Kushina said, torn between grinning, or blushing. She ended up doing both.

"You always look pretty," I told her truthfully.

Kushina turned to face me and did a double take. "You look ten years older. Slap some hips on you and anyone would think you were a geisha."

"Don't give my puberty any ideas," I warned her.

Kushina's brow furrowed and she gave me a sympathetic look. "You're gonna have big hips and big boobs."

"Do _not_ say that," I hissed. "My back already throws temper tantrum. If my boobs get any bigger than Grandmother's then I am getting a reduction."

"Better make sure you request at least a month off around that time, then," Kushina warned. "When your grandmother got hers—"

I let out a gasp. " _What_? Grandmother got a—"

"It's not uncommon for kunoichi to do that," Kushina sighed. "Unless they work honey pot missions, it's just impractical to have breasts larger than a c-cup. Although your grandmother's was more of a medical necessity after she exper—oh, wait I shouldn't tell you this until you're older."

"How about you just don't talk to me about Grandmother's boobs ever again."

Kushina nodded her head. "That seems reasonable. But she did set aside funds for you when you were old enough to... you know... take care of that."

I cringed.

An extremely uncomfortable silence fell between us before Kushina coughed and said, "I think I'll just use this make up for meeting Namikaze-san."

"Okay," I said, relieved for the change. "Let's get you dressed and your hair done so we can practice a simple tea ceremony."

"... And flower arrangement."

I paused, amusement bubbling inside me at her sheepish mutter.

"... Yes, Nee-chan."

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

I fiddled with the ends of my hair. After how poorly our team had handled our last outside mission (a _precious_ heir ending up in the hospital) the Hokage thought it best to confine us once again to the village until the exams. As a result, we spent the majority of our time alternating between D-Ranks and training. I knew the exams would be coming up soon enough and I wanted to make damn sure that Obito was prepared. I felt like he would be, or at least as much as he possibly could be, but I couldn't bring myself to lax our training.

My hair had grown out a bit more, falling past the top of my shoulders and slowly starting to grow out. I wondered, if maybe, it would be presumptuous of me to let it grow out. I would love to have long hair like Madara did, to be such a strong kunoichi, like Madara was such a powerful shinobi.

I decided I would let it grow out at least a little bit more.

Obito plopped down to my right, the snow crunching underneath him. His warm eyes saw me fiddling with my hair and he reached out and started to fiddle with it, too. "What? Are you going to cut it again?"

I thought about swatting his hand away, but I found that I didn't feel particularly attracted to him at that moment and it felt nice to have someone play with my hair, so I decided against it. "Not yet."

Kakashi sat on my other side. "I think you should grow it out."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "I didn't know you cared about appearances."

"I don't," Kakashi confirmed, "but you always get a wistful look when you have to cut your hair, so I think maybe you shouldn't."

I couldn't resist smiling at that. "I didn't realize you paid such close attention."

Kakashi shrugged and took a long drink from his water. Obito dropped my hair and propped his chin in his hands and his elbows in his lap. He peered at me. "I can't imagine you with long hair."

"It would be interesting to see," I said. "Obaa-sama had long hair that she kept partially up in buns. She had hundreds of these beautiful sticks she would stick in them..."

"Do you have any?" Obito asked.

I shook my head. "I've never had long hair and ornamental sticks can't really be used for short hair."

"Do you want some?" Kakashi asked.

I shrugged. "Planning for my birthday?"

"No, I already have your gift."

Obito's eyes widened. "What? Seriously? I haven't come up with anything, yet!"

"Loser," Kakashi taunted. Obito's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't rise to the bait. Kakashi snorted at that. "Well, doesn't matter right now, anyway. I'll just be glad when this damn winter is over."

"Me, too," I agreed. "At least the weather is starting to warm up, and we haven't had any more ice storms."

"Thank God."

Minato appeared in front of us with a flash of golden light, carrying several boxes of takeout. "Alright, who's ready for lunch and to get back to work?"

Obito leapt up. "You had me at _lunch_."

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

Time passed by slowly. There was nothing of note to come up. We trained. We went on silly missions. I listened to heated arguments between my logical side and hormonal side.

Every week since it had started getting warmer I would visit Madara's cave. Insofar he had remained asleep. Madara predicted that he likely would until it was nice and warm (which may very well go into late spring, early summer).

Fortunately, though, I was gifted by a rare moment of seeing him semi-awake.

After I had removed the blankets over him, his eyes had fluttered open and he stared at me groggily. "Is it warm outside?"

"Not yet, Madara-sama," I answered gently.

His eyes grew half lidded. "Anything happen?"

"Not of great importance. The exams are coming up in a month."

"Mn. If I am not awake by then... then stay... stay away until they are complete. The village will be... will be hectic and more eyes will be on you. I know... I know they have been anticipating this for you... for a while. You know... what to... what to do."

I bowed. "I will not fail you, Madara-sama. Not ever."

He raised a wrinkled hand and brushed a stray bang away from my face. "I know. When you return to me victorious I will have a present for you."

I relished his touch for as long as I could before Madara's eyes fluttered closed and he drifted back into sleep. Tenderly, I brushed his hair for him, cleaned him up, and tucked him into bed. I took the dirty blankets and washed them in a nearby stream before I hung them up to dry in the cave near a fire I had Zetsu keep going.

My hand kept raising up to touch the cheek he had touched.

In a strange way, that one gesture made my whole week.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

It was finally starting to warm up and _stay_ warm. Although spring technically had arrived last month, it was still cool enough that we had kept our winter clothes. That week, however, we stored our clothing away for next winter.

I stared at myself in the mirror. My brows were furrowed and I resisted the urge to simply tear the clothes right off me. I knew I had grown a bit over the winter, but I didn't think it was by _that much_. My previous outfit could no longer fit me. I could scarcely get the sleeveless black shirt over me—and it didn't even cover my midriff anymore—and my skirt was too tight.

I shouldn't have been surprised, really. Puberty was already hitting me upside the head with... _emotions_ , but I didn't think I'd get the _entire_ package so soon. Twelve or not, growing ten centimeters over winter was a bit too much. Moreover, the bulge on my chest seemed to literally pop out of nowhere.

(I wasn't even going to address the signs of sexual attraction that I had been in denial about for most of winter, or the upcoming indications that I was becoming a _woman_ ).

Logically, I knew that Kushina probably anticipated that and _that_ was why she got me winter clothes that were too big for my tiny form at first. It was also why she insisted I began to wear small sports bras in preparation for when those damn mounds would appear.

Still, the growth spurts and breasts meant that the _other_ stuff would start heading my way soon enough. Worst of all, it meant that _those feelings_ would become even harder to resist and control.

Ripping off my last year's clothes, I grabbed my orange fluffy robe and headed out of my room.

Kakashi exited out of his room as well, _also_ wearing his house robes. He grimaced when he looked at me. "Your stuff doesn't fit either, does it?"

Sighing, I shook my head.

"I'm not gonna let that woman shop for me," Kakashi said adamantly, "so do you know where Minato-sensei is?"

His voice cracked. We both ignored it.

"Certainly not home right now," I told him. "I'm sure Nee-chan will pick something suitable out for you."

"I'm not wearing orange," Kakashi continued venomously. "Never. _Ever_."

I pouted. "You're no fun."

"Better than wearing orange."

Snorting, I brushed passed him and headed into Kushina and Minato's room. Kushina was currently painting her toenails on the bed, a movie playing quietly on the television in front of her. Upon my entrance, she stopped what she was doing and looked up. A gleam entered her eyes. "Shopping?"

"Shopping and... I should probably consult a doctor for the _rest_ of the signs for puberty," I admitted.

Kushina gave me a sympathetic look. "Okay. I'll schedule you with my doctor this week. Although, ah, I do need to warn you about some things before your appointment. Perks of being an Uzumaki _and_ Senju."

That sounded scarily ominous and I did _not_ want to consider why she was giving me that pitying look. "Thank you."

"I'll head out in about five minutes, okay? Does Kakashi need new clothes?"

"Yes," I told her, ignoring Kakashi's squawk of betrayal from his room. "But, he doesn't want to wear _any_ orange."

"Party pooper," Kushina grumbled.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

I wondered where exactly Kushina got her style and her sense of proportions. Within half an hour she had already bought numerous outfits—all roughly the same—but in varying sizes.

"It's flexible enough that you can wear it throughout puberty," Kushina explained. "Plus, it's super cute, ya know!"

Cuteness was lost on me—but it did have a certain aesthetic appeal to it. As heiress to the Senju clan it was important to be presentable, but as descendant of Uzumaki Mito, it was equally important to be presented as a kunoichi. Kunoichi, unlike most shinobi (there were still plenty of boys and men who operated like kunoichi for body work missions) were expected to use their feminine assets to their advantage. Perhaps not directly through sexual appeal, but there was a reason most villages sent kunoichi to negotiate, or deal with any sort of high ranking nobles.

Kunoichi were supposed to be presented as soft, supple, and beautiful creatures. They were easy on the eyes, lethal to the hearts.

In this war-ravaged world it should not be any sort of surprise that the filthy rich were shallow wastes of spaces and specifically requested kunoichi for their appearances. Clan Heads who did not present themselves correctly and _properly_ in the eyes of court were scorned and received next to no personal mission requests from their clan. Call the Hyūga uptight all you want, but they were certain to keep up appearances for damn good reasons.

If you could not present yourself as someone bright, or _pretty_ , then you needed to present yourself as someone powerful and scary. The ANBU, once discarding their identities, were created to be as intimidating and uniformed as possible.

The animal masks symbolized their loss of identity and ties with humanity. They were mindless beasts to their Hokage's will. Gray and dark and completely without standard light—their village was their light; their Hokage was their light. Nothing else mattered to those ANBU. They were interchangeable and completely replaceable.

Hell, even the Inuzaka Clan used a mix of both. Their healers were the _pretty_ kunoichi while the rest gave off feral appearances and purposely used chakra to aggravate and enhance their otherworldly animalistic features.

Intimidation, or attraction. Those were the only two choices influential shinobi had.

Intimidation worked against me as Senju Naasica, but it would fuel as me as Madara's tool. The two had to be completely and entirely separate, opposite in every faction. Since intimidation would be my bread and butter carrying out Madara's will, then attraction would be Naasica's.

It was one of the reasons I enjoyed Kushina choosing my outfits (and her vivid smile; that gleam in her eyes so very much like Grandmother's). My personal tastes in this world ran closer to Madara's. I wanted to emulate him in my personal life, which was most certainly not acceptable; but, it was hard to resist.

With Kushina choosing my own attires I had little chance of conflicting my wants. Not to mention any possible correlation could be excused as there was _no way_ anyone would think Kushina was close to Madara.

The outfit that I would wear throughout puberty in the warm months was a simple attire. She had chosen long plain black pants that were neither baggy, nor tight, but did not leave any open room at the end. She chose another sleeveless black shirt with a pale orange collar. She got an overshirt, though, that was in part a kimono. There was no bow at the end of the obi, instead it was tucked nice and neat. The sleeves were long and opened widely at the end—all the better to conceal what I hid in my hands.

The overshirt's collar was wide and very maneuverable—it fell beneath my shoulders, in fact, presenting the black undershirt.

The kimono overshirt ended where the obi ended—right at my waist, and it hugged tight enough that I knew the fabric would not catch needlessly on leaves or branches. It was a darker shade of orange, while the obi matched the collar in being a paler shade.

I examined my outfit, wondering once again where Kushina's style came from.

"Well?" Kushina demanded, a smug smile on her face and an infectious glint in her eyes.

"Beautiful," I reassured her, allowing her to turn me around however which way she pleased.

Kushina beamed. "Good! I already have something picked out for when you stop growing. It'll be my congratulations gift when you turn sixteen, since you'll officially be an adult."

"I look forward to it."

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

I peeked into Kakashi's room. The door was shut, but that never stopped me from barging in. I did not see him right away, and as such I opened the door fully and stepped inside. His window was open—soft blue curtains danced in the breeze in the overly neat room.

Kakashi had little personal effects—a handful of pictures with some doggy beds scattered around the room—and it was an overall very bleak room.

I meandered around it, my fingers tracing along one of the pictures of the two of us—we were five at the time, and Kushina had taken us swimming.

Suddenly feeling his presence, I looked up and smiled briefly. Kakashi was leaning on the doorframe, and I gave a surprised giggle at seeing him wear the exact same damn outfit from last year. "Where did you find that in your size?"

"Minato bought a bunch of them last year, apparently," Kakashi admitted.

"Ah."

"Is that what Kushina picked out?"

I stretched my arms out for him to get a better look. "Until my boobs stop growing."

Kakashi paled. "You have boobs now?"

"Yeah. Got them over winter. Going to have a doctor's appointment this week about the _fun stuff_."

Kakashi shuddered. "I don't suppose I could convince you to get some nice scented candles or something and always keep them lit in your room when, ah, you know... _that time_ comes?"

Blinking in surprise, I tilted my head. "Why?"

"Smell."

It clicked. " _Oh_. Huh. How the hell am I going to hide that smell on missions?"

"No clue. Good luck, though."

"Little sapling?"

"Uh-huh?" I called back, looking out into the hall and finding Kushina carrying a very big box. Her cheeks were a little rosy and she gave me yet another pitying look.

"I think we should have that talk now before it gets too late."

"... Right."

"Kakashi," Kushina continued, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave the house for a bit. Go find Obito and bring yourselves over to Minato. I'll send Naa-chan along shortly."

Kakashi and I exchanged curious looks. With a shrug, he headed out and Kushina went into my bedroom.

She dropped the box of... whatever onto my bed. I entered the room and she deftly closed and locked the door behind her.

She then sat beside the box on the bed and motioned for me to sit next to her.

I sat down and gave her a mildly concerned look. "Is this the sex talk?"

"... Sort of," Kushina admitted slowly. "More like a talk about your libido."

"What."

"Well," Kushina began, "I mean you already understand how around when puberty hits the tenketsu start developing around the reproductive system... Because of that chakra has a tendency of bleeding into the reproductive system causing an overdrive. This is _especially_ true with those who have large chakra capacity and that's why there is a direct correlation to one's libido and their, ah, chakra capacity. This fact is a bit, ah, overstated within the Uzumaki Clan, but I haven't done any kind of research into the other clans (as I'm sure it's kept private) so I'm not sure how the others handle it. Thanks to your 3/4s heritage and the abundance of chakra from Senju _and_ Uzumaki your puberty will be hitting you rather... hard. To be honest, you're kind of just hitting the tip of the iceberg, little sapling."

No.

No.

No.

Nope.

No.

Nope, nope, nope.

Nope.

Just... no.

"This box," Kushina motioned, "are some new toys I brought for you."

I started hyperventilating. No amount of training could have prepared for this conversation. I did not do _toys_. I did not do _sex_. I had next to no sex drive in my previous life, and this woman was telling me that those _goddamn_ emotions and those _fucking_ hormones were going to be even _worse_ than what they already are?!

"It'll be okay," Kushina soothed. "Training, and lots of exercise can work to tire your body out enough on most days. There are also special pills to help, ah, take the edge off that your doctor will talk to you more about. It's perfectly manageable, but you should know that if you _do_ get the urge you shouldn't ignore it. That'll just make it worse and you'll get very irritable until that urge is dealt with. There is no shame in this."

Then she opened the box and she showed me what was inside.

I shamelessly started to weep.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

I found my team roughly an hour later at our usual training grounds. The three of them were actually enjoying a conversation when I showed up, swollen eyed and everything. My heart was hammering inside my chest as I fought to keep my boiling frustration and rage in check.

Obito's eyes were wide. "Oni-hime, are you okay?" He even had the audacity to sound _concerned_.

I didn't even have _try_ in order to give him the coldest glare possible. It made him cringe and avert his gaze immediately. "Don't. Mention. This. To. _Anyone_. Or. I. Will. _**Hurt**_ _._ You."

"I think this might be the time to give us the good news, Sensei," Kakashi said carefully, taking a couple steps away from me and giving the cringing Obito a pitying look.

Minato cleared his throat, a knowing glint in his eyes— _BASTARD KNEW!_ —and said, "I recommended you three for promotion to Chūnin. Kakashi and Naasica are already Chūnin in the field, but now it's time to officially earn the title outside of the field. After the three of you have taken the exams, we'll be allowed to take missions outside the village and help in the war effort, again."

Kakashi gave an uncharacteristic smile. " _Finally_."

Obito bounced around in place, completely forgetting about me, practically about to burst with excitement. "This is gonna be cool! I'm going to kick _so much ass_."

"We'll see," Minato laughed. "Only Konoha Genin will compete, and this year will be extremely strict about not permanently damaging any contestants."

 _After all, we can't waste cannon fodder_ here _when we need the bodies_ out there.

"And, hime, Hokage-sama wanted to have a discussion with you after I told you about the nominations, so head straight there after training today, okay?"

"Whatever."

Minato's lips twitched again, clearly taking amusement in my obvious foul mood.

I snarled silently at him, daring him to taunt me, to say _anything_ about my predicament.

He outright laughed and it took every ounce of self-control not to lunge at him.

The more furious I grew, the harder he laughed and the more uncomfortable Obito and Kakashi became.

"Come now, hime," Minato chuckled, "it's perfectly natural. Nothing to be ashamed of."

With a scream I threw myself at him. "Shut UP!"

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

Exhaustion pressed down upon me and I was wheezing, struggling to stand up. I was covered in sweat and I knew I stank to high hell. Bruises, marks, scratches, you name it I had it, covered my form. My outfit was in tatters already and had dried blood over it. Kakashi was on the ground beside me, faring no better, and fighting off the urge to pass out. Obito was on my other side, bent over his knees and swaying dangerously. I knew he would likely pass out soon. He already thrown up his breakfast from the intense work out Minato put us through.

The Blond Devil was smiling coldly down upon us, looking pristine and absolutely untouched.

_Cocksucking motherfucking infected clitoris piece of shit cunt goddamnit—_

The absolute fury and frustration I held at that moment was the only reason I was able to stay standing. I _refused_ to back down, to fall over and lose to a smug bastard who laughed at my plight! I—I—

It got harder to concentrate. Unfortunately, willpower could only take someone so far.

My vision doubled and I swayed before falling to my knees, my breath still ragged.

Then Minato was back in front of me, kneeling down and patting my head affectionately.

Obito and Kakashi had both passed out at this point, and I knew I would join them shortly.

"I know it's going to be hard," Minato said softly, his eyes no longer so mocking. "Kushina was just as frustrated as you, used all her energy to fight hopeless battles. I know you're angry, and I'm prepared to take that anger on for you. You're the type that likes to be in control, so I can't imagine how hard this must be for you—to not even be able to control your own body. A kunoichi's greatest weapon is her body, and to have that weapon fight back..."

Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes. I didn't have the energy to cry, not really, so they just came silent and unbidden.

"You're a strong girl," Minato said, "you'll make it through this. Who knows. We might look back upon this day and laugh. I know I will at least."

"Bastard," I muttered, and suddenly all the anger I felt towards the man just... just left. I didn't have the energy to hold it anymore. I was just... I just tired of it all. Just frustrated at the news, at what I knew was coming up.

"I know."

I closed my eyes, taking a brief moment to enjoy the noon's sun (only _noon_ and the man had already pushed us to our limits) and then joined my teammates in oblivion.

I guess I felt a little grateful towards the man.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

"Naasica-hime," Hiruzen greeted pleasantly, looking up from his paperwork. I rewarded him with a charming smile as I gently closed the door behind us. The three of us had awoken three hours after the intense work out, and our bodies ached something fierce. I even had to wobble a bit when I moved about and I knew I looked very unpresentable. But, the Hokage wasn't a man to be kept waiting. Hiruzen brushed aside the rest of his paperwork on his desk, turning to another pile on the window ledge. He rummaged through it with one hand, while gesturing for me to take a seat.

Running my fingers through my hair, I brushed it to rest entirely on my right side. It was certainly growing longer—I hoped it would one day be as long as Madara's.

Hiruzen gave a _harrumph_ as he procured several official-looking documents. He placed them on his desk and slid them towards me. Curious, I skimmed over them.

"Oh."

Hiruzen gave a smile. "Once you officially reach the rank of Chūnin you are allowed to lead a clan. The Senju seat has been sorely missed in the council meetings, and it would greatly please me to see it filled once more."

I bowed my head politely ( _ah that made the room spin a bit_ )—not low enough to diminish myself, but enough to offer the proper respect between a kage and clan head. "I would be honored to take the Senju seat. In taking the seat, is there any objectives you wish for me to... assist you in?"

"Yes," Hiruzen said blandly. "The Fire Daimyo has requested meeting you when you were eligible to attend court, for starters. He is most anxious to meet you."

"I will endeavor to leave a good impression, then," I promised.

"That would be appreciated," Hiruzen said bluntly. "The Daimyo and his court are fickle, at best. They haven't shown interest in another shinobi since I was your age."

"Centuries ago?" I teased.

His lips twitched. "Get out, you brat. Read over the papers and be sure to fill out all the forms so you can turn them in after the exams."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Upon exiting the room, I found my two teammates waiting for me. They were both looking at me expectantly. "He just wanted me to be prepared to assume my role as Senju Clan leader after the exams."

Obito gaped at me while Kakashi grimaced. Kakashi said, "What would your duties entail?"

"Well," I said dryly, "given that I'm the only Senju alive my duties are restricted to my role on the council. I have no clan to appease or monitor."

Obito's mouth clicked shut with an audible snap and his brow furrowed. "Wait? Only living one? What about—ah—that—that woman that was in my medical textbooks! Tsunade?"

Cold fury immediately raged inside of my chest and I struggled to keep the vehemence out of my tone. " _She is dead_."

My reaction caused Obito to look away, while Kakashi's gaze lowered to his feet. "... Yeah. Look, the exam starts tomorrow so let's just get some rest. We'll meet up at the first exam."

"... Okay," Obito said eventually, tossing me a confused, and worried look.

I bit my tongue.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

"We have proctors placed around the room. There are _no_ blind spots, so do not get cocky. Each of you are given a total of fifteen points. You will lose two points for every five minutes you are here, but you will be awarded a point for every question you answer correctly. You will be docked one point for each time you are caught cheating. You need a total of fifteen points to pass in addition to completing the exam. You must answer all of the questions on the test as quickly and concisely as you can. You are not allowed to harm any of competitors, and doing so will result in immediate disqualification for your team."

My right hand's fingers drummed along the wooden desk, while my left hand rested flat against it. I listened, halfheartedly, as the examiner continued to sprout the rules of the exam. The exam was not a mind-fuck like it was in the anime, or manga. It was a very straightforward exam. I suspected each of the tests would likewise be straightforward.

In truth, Konoha was just trying to push out as many Chūnin as they could. It was a time of war, and while for the past few months Konoha had been awarded the luxury of not being forced to send out Genin teams, they could _not_ continue that luxury without a cost.

The alliance of Sunagakure certainly assisted in dramatically lowering the casualty rate, but it would not do so forever unless we provided more shinobi to the war. In order to keep the Genin teams and innocent teams free of war, Konohagakure pushed to nominate more and more Genin into the ranks of Chūnin.

These "exams" would be about as easy as they could reasonably make it. A written exam to test for intellectual competence, and how cunning one could be. More than likely the next test would be focused on teamwork, followed by one on one combat.

 _Easy_ , I thought. _As Hiruzen implied, my ascension to Chūnin is guaranteed._

Inconspicuously, the bottom of my left palm slowly converted into wood and attached itself to the desk. I knew Kakashi would be fully capable of passing this test on his own, and while I had worked hard in bringing up Obito's academics capabilities, I could not trust him to adequately answer the questions on his own.

Thankfully, or perhaps by Hiruzen's very design, the desks and floors were entirely made of wood. While I had not shown my capabilities of teleportation through wood, it was impossible to hide the fact that I could have my chakra traverse through trees. It wasn't any different than having it traverse through the ground to grow a tree a few meters away from me, really. My chakra instinctually traveled along the wood, hopping from desk to desk until it reached Obito.

I saw Obito stiffen as he realized that I grew a small little branch on his desk. He turned around to face me, and I gave him a chilling smile and held up my sleeve. Understanding dawned on his face and he quickly covered the branch with his right hand.

I felt him place the pencil into the branch, and I maneuvered the branch to converge with the wooden pencil.

I could not see what was transpiring, but I could easily have the pencil in the branch mimic what I wrote out in my opposite hand on my own test.

I just had to have a little faith that Obito was _smart enough_ to make sure to move the test paper around in accordance to my answers. I was sure to pause in between each question to give time for Obito to maneuver the paper.

Ten minutes ticked by until I was done.

I stood up from my desk, grabbing my paper. Obito quickly followed my movements, grabbing his own paper and smiling widely. Kakashi spared us a brief glance from his spot far in the back before mimicking. Together, the three of us handed our papers into the proctor and left.

"Thanks, Oni-hime," Obito exclaimed once we were out of the room. "That was really cool!"

"Mn. You're welcome. We need a full team to make it to the second exam probably, anyway. I have a good feeling it'll be focused on team coordination."

"That's usually how it goes. Intellectual exam, followed by team, then one on one combat," Kakashi muttered. "Every time."

"Well that's boring," Obito grumbled. Then he perked up. "At this rate, though, I'm going to get _Chūnin_!"

"Of course you are," I snorted, mildly bemused by Obito's childish excitement. "We _literally_ trained and conditioned you for this promotion. Should you fail, it would mean that _we_ failed and while I cannot speak for Kakashi... _I do not fail_."

"Right, right." Obito waved me off easily, bouncing around. "This is going to be so _awesome_. I can't wait to tell Kaa-chan!"

Briefly recalling something, I then said, "Come over after dinner, Obito. You're going to stay the night with us, so we can all leave _on time_ tomorrow."

Obito's cheeks flushed and Kakashi's head snapped towards me. "I don't want him spending the night."

"Too bad," I retorted. "While he's not late _as often_ he's still annoyingly late when needed most. Given that it's a _team_ assessment it's only natural that he would show up too late, or just barely on time."

Obito protested, "That's not true!"

Kakashi grimaced. "You're right. He's sleeping on the couch, though."

"Fine," I agreed.

"Don't I get a say in this?"

"No," we chorused.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

I nibbled thoughtfully on the mocchi Kushina made for us. It wasn't my favorite dessert—I could never get used to the texture of the rice paper—but it _was_ Kushina's. She would eat them like a squirrel—stuff five or so in her mouth before she got a brain-freeze and struggle to swallow them all. Kakashi was upstairs and locked away in his bedroom—and likely would stay that way until it was time to go to the exams.

He liked Obito well enough, I suppose, but he was just an antisocial person by nature and craved solitude. I couldn't really fault him for that, as I craved Madara's company over just about everyone else's. He had ordered me to stay away until after the exams settled down, and while I had taken long breaks away from him before, each felt just as uncomfortable as the last.

There was a knock at the front door, and I didn't bother looking up as Kushina shouted for him to come in.

Obito hopped inside, a backpack slung over his shoulder and grinned. "Aw, sweet is that mocchi?"

Kushina proudly held out the last six and Obito practically dove for them.

 _Dorks_ , I thought fondly.

I stood up from my seat beside Minato and brushed the nonexistent wrinkles out of my nightgown. "Well, since I know you showed up safe and sound I'm going to head to bed now."

"Wha—but it's only seven!"

I shrugged. "You can never get too much sleep."

"Yes you can!" Obito exclaimed.

"Obito's right, little sapling," Kushina said, looking over at me and smiling. "Why don't you stay up a bit and talk with your teammate?"

"We talk every day," I said. "And we'll keep talking every day for the rest of our lives. Why force conversation now?"

For some reason this made Kushina and Minato giggle (which was always weird when Minato did it) and Obito's face light up a bright red. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and mumbled something incoherent. Deciding I _didn't_ want to know what they were giggling about, I took my exit.

As I passed by Kakashi's room, I heard the door quietly shut behind me.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

It was bright and early when I woke up. I was swift in getting ready for the day. I doubted the exams would last more than a few days for us if it were a survival exam. I was still banking on it being centered around teamwork, as teamwork was considered more crucial than surviving in a thriving forest by Konoha's standards.

Ever still, it would probably be for the best if I anticipated a survival _and_ teamwork exam. With that in mind I grabbed my basic survival kit scroll (it was roughly the size of the palm of my hand—bless having an Uzumaki fūinjutsu master in the household). It had enough supplies to last about five days. I slipped it into my pouch and then I headed out of the room.

I wasn't even two steps out into the hall before an energetic bright red creature swept me away.

Kushina giggled and nuzzled my cheek with her own as she swung me around. "My future little Chūnin!"

"Nee-chan," I whined, squashing down the mix emotions of affection and sheer annoyance. "I need to go eat before we leave."

"Not yet," Kushina sung, finally setting me down. In the next moment I felt her fingers run through my hair. "I'm not quite ready for you to be a Chūnin!"

I made another whine, halfheartedly trying to escape. I could never stay annoyed with her. I settled for forcing her to walk with me (while she held onto me and squashed her cheek against my face and cooed) downstairs and into the kitchen.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the rest of the team up and about, Minato making breakfast and Obito shoveling food into his mouth like some kind of wild beast. Kakashi appeared to be transfixed in watching the display with a morbid sense of fascination. Suddenly Obito let out a retch and started pounding on his chest. " _Hurrk_!"

Kakashi gave him a positively disgusted look. "That's what you get for inhaling food instead of eating it. Learn to chew, you idiot."

Obito continued to choke until Minato paused in making eggs to turn over and slap him hard on the back.

I closed my eyes as I heard a wet _splat._ Kushina giggled cutely and I reopened my eyes to find that Kakashi had used his empty plate to block the disgusting thing Obito coughed out from hitting his face.

"You're doing the dishes," Kakashi snarled at him, lowering the plate.

Obito, red-faced, continued to try and catch his breath. "Th-Thanks, Minato-s-sensei."

Minato gave the two boys bemused looks and ruffled Obito's hair before returning to making eggs.

"You boys are just too cute," Kushina decided, still holding me tight against her. "I don't know if I feel comfortable leaving my adorable little sapling alone with you two!"

Both boys' heads snapped around to look at us. Obito's cheeks colored in obvious embarrassment while Kakashi quickly averted Kushina's knowing gaze and glared down at the table. I let out a soft sigh of relief when Kushina released me from her grasp and I headed over to the table.

I sat beside Kakashi and Minato immediately turned around and handed me a plate filled with a rolled omelet, rice porridge, and _lots_ of pork. My mouth automatically watered as I took a moment to admire Minato's handiness in the kitchen. He was nothing like Kushina, of course—and I wasn't just bias—but he was certainly impressive. Far better than I ever was. I understood how to make food, but I didn't quite have that passionate touch that seemed to really liven food up in this world.

I meticulously ate my breakfast, chewing the food slowly as I watched Obito and Kakashi banter back and forth. There was no real annoyance in their words or tones, so I felt no need to punish them for arguing. Obito was obviously a little nervous and it was some sort of comfort to him to bicker with Kakashi.

When everyone was done eating we each washed our own dishes and then three of us headed out the door. Kushina made sure to give me many more kisses and nuzzles before I left, though.

The three of us arrived at the entrance to a secluded training ground. It was a fenced off forest, but it was extremely small in comparison to the daunting Forest of Death. It was three times larger than our typical training grounds, and if I remembered correctly from my previous visits to that particular training ground, there would be a large clearing at the center of it.

The training ground _was_ connected to the Forest of Death, like many others. The Forest of Death was largely used to train ANBU, so it was typically kept off limits. There were roughly thirteen training grounds surrounding the Forest of Death in a tight circle. Each training ground had a different level to it, and required a certain rank before someone was even allowed to enter. Training grounds F1-F5 were cleared for Genin; F6-F9 Chūnin; F10-F11 Jōnin; F11-F12 ANBU; F13 Research. Should anyone other than ANBU require to use the Forest of Death, then the truly dangerous wildlife kept in the Forest of Death would be rotated into F11-F13. Wildlife from the other sections would then be transitioned into the Forest of Death depending on which group needed it.

During the academy days if one entire class was particularly advanced they could request a survival exam to partake in the Forest of Death for however long, and so the ANBU would bring in creatures from F1-F5 to stay in the Forest for a while, and take out the vicious creatures that normally inhabited it. The whole process typically would take a week; from what I remember Grandmother talking about. I suppose Tobirama had dabbled a bit in mutations, genetic testing, and some rather horrific experiments and whatever was left over still survived on in the forest and reproduced.

We currently stood outside training ground F7, and each of us looked up at the proctor.

The unnamed Chūnin gave us a thin smile. "You are team Minato, then. This exam is simple, at exactly 900 I will let your team into training ground F7. You will encounter an enemy team and the two teams must battle it for exactly one hour, or until all hostiles are left unconscious. Whoever is still conscious will then proceed through F7 and into the Forest of Death. Upon entering the Forest of Death you will have half an hour to make it to the center tower where your next exam will await you."

"Rules?" I inquired politely.

"Permanent maiming and killing anyone from the enemy team will result in immediate disqualification and martial punishment."

"What do we do if we defeat the team before the hour?" Kakashi asked.

The Chūnin paused. "If everyone on the enemy team is unconscious then you will be allowed to enter the Forest of Death before the hour is over. Whatever time you saved by defeating the team prematurely will be added onto your standard half an hour limit to reach the center tower."

Obito grinned. "We'll have a whole half an hour, then!"

"Obviously," I said.

My team fell into an easy silence as we waited for the door to open and allow us into the training grounds. Eleven minutes ticked by before an alarm was heard and the iron door swung open.

I dashed inside, Kakashi and Obito on each side of me. It did not take long to reach the center clearing and to encounter our "enemy" team. I saw scorched marks covering part of the clearing, and a Jōnin stood at the center—our proctor, most likely.

I vaguely recognized some of the shinobi we faced. The only one that I really knew for sure was Gai, and that was because that trademark hair was impossible not to remember. The other two were were forgettable, and since I did not share a class with them I had no reason to know their names. Forgettable Genin A chewed on a senbon, and Forgettable Genin B wore obnoxiously dark sunglasses despite obviously not being part of the Aburame clan.

The proctor raised his hand. "Begin!"

"Allow me," I purred, taking the lead as I flickered to FGA, my left fist balled up tightly as I delivered a vicious blow against the Genin. He flew away and landed harshly against one of the large trees. It really wasn't fair, to be honest. How could anyone expect simple _Genin_ to compete with someone like _me_? A Senju with mokuton, training from Madara, already equal with the famous Hatake Kakashi, and the one person who turned Obito from _deadlast_ to _on par with Kakashi_. Kakashi had no issues with facing any other Genin his age aside from Gai, so why would two completely unremarkable children stand a chance against _me_?

A smug smile crawled its way across my face and I could not resist sneering down at the Genin as he struggled to stand back up.

I did not bother dodging Gai's kick, as I knew Kakashi would intercept that for me.

Kakashi was beside me in that instant and deflected Gai's spinning kick with his forearms before engaging the taijutsu prodigy in a one-on-one spar. My right side warmed up as Obito released a flurry of fireballs at FGB.

FGA clutched at his ribs, shaking, his senbon already out of his mouth. I knew I had crushed his ribcage, and they were likely poking into his lungs. The proctor seemed to notice this because he flickered over to FGA and kneeled beside him. He whispered something to the Genin that made the Genin pale and furiously shake his head.

The proctor then shrugged, and took a step back.

I turned my back against the Genin, a very, _very_ rude taunt ( _he was no longer a threat, despite still breathing_ ), and joined Obito in taking down FGA. FGB would soon pass out from being unable to breath properly. It wouldn't kill him, of course, not in this world. After he passed out I would imagine the proctor would rush him and his teammates to the nearest hospital. They would be patched up and good to go within two weeks.

Obito flipped above FGB while I twisted my body and dove down and to the right of the Genin. The Genin moved his hands to try and complete the seal to substitute jutsu, but Obito was surprisingly faster. Obito's right hand snapped out, kunai being held inside, and he slammed the blunt end against FGB. This caused the Genin to stagger, his hands reflexively going up to his forehead and I used that moment to kick his right knee in.

A popping sound was heard and FGB let out a strangled cry, causing Gai to falter in his fight to look over, which allowed Kakashi to deliver a decisive blow. FGB fell onto his back, reaching for his oddly bent leg and Obito played the mercy card and knocked him out cold.

I would have been okay with letting the useless boy pass out from the pain on his own.

I gave Obito a charming smile and he beamed back at me. "Well done, Obito! Looks like I won't have to break any of your bones as punishment."

He paled at that. "I never, _ever_ , want to go through that again."

I giggled cutely and the two of us turned to watch Gai and Kakashi.

"'Kashi? Need any help?" Obito asked.

Kakashi snorted at that.

"Let's just let him be," I told Obito. "He has to pull his weight somehow."

Obito shrugged and the two of us continued to watch Kakashi for several more minutes before I got bored and sat down. I placed both of my hands on the ground and summoned up dozens of roots around Gai that popped out of the ground at random to try and grab at his feet.

Gai became very clearly disoriented at that. In between Kakashi's relentless pursuit and my random root we managed to force Gai to trip up enough that Kakashi could knock him out.

The fight was obviously over. Kakashi folded his arms across his chest and sent me a withering look. "I was handling it."

"You took too long," I told him. "You know I do not like to be kept waiting."

"Oh, _I know_ ," Obito whispered, a briefly traumatized look crossing over his face as he seemed to be recalling the times that I showed him my displeasure.

This made me giggle, which just seemed to unnerve the boy even more so.

"Well," the proctor said, "I think it's fairly obvious you have passed this part. You have," he looked down at his watch, "an hour and ten minutes to make it to the center tower of the Forest of Death. Another proctor there will give you further instructions."

"Yes, sir," we chorused. The proctor gestured towards behind him and the three of us moved in that direction. There was a large gate at the back of the training grounds that unlocked the moment the three of us reached it. We exchanged glances; Obito's eyes bright with excitement, Kakashi's face unreadable, and I knew I was smirking.

And then we were off, racing through the forest and leaping from one tree branch to the other. We ran into no resistance on our way to the tower and it did not take long to reach it—fifteen minutes, max.

It was as tall as the Hokage's tower, perhaps a bit taller. It was built out of concrete and I could see cracks and little bits missing from it. It looked worn down and maybe a bit old, but I knew it would hold strong. Despite all the horrific creatures normally kept in the Forest of Death (creatures that kept the ANBU on their toes) it still stood tall. It still remained a safe haven.

We moved quietly. The front door opened up to us and we flickered inside without another word.

Minato was waiting for us, a bright smile on his face. "I saw everything. Well done, all three of you! You didn't even have to use your combination ninjutsu."

Obito preened, his chest puffed up with pride. Even Kakashi's eyes glowed at Minato's warm praise.

"Of course not," I scoffed. "They're merely Genin!"

Minato's eyes twinkled. "And you're not?"

"I'm pretty sure we've established that by now," Kakashi said dryly.

Minato laughed. "Yes, alright. Well, the Hokage has decided that considering on Konoha Genin are in this exam we'll just skip straight into a tournament style exam tomorrow for the third phase. All the Genin who made it through the second phase will congregate here for the night. At noon tomorrow we'll bring them into a small arena and you will each participate in one on one battles."

"And if we win our battles we become Chūnin?"

"It increases your chances, certainly," Minato agreed, "but you could still lose your battle and become a Chūnin."

" _Really_?" Obito asked, incredulous. "Why would they want losers as Chūnin?"

Minato only smiled in response. "Head upstairs and pick a room. You're the second team to make it through so you have plenty of time to rest. The arena," Minato turned and gestured towards large closed doors behind him, "is through there. Be there by twelve hundred tomorrow. Dismissed."

Minato disappeared in his signature yellow flash, leaving us alone in the common room.

"We should stay in our rooms and away from the other teams," I said as I lead the way upstairs. I knew they would follow, so I did not bother looking back.

I could practically feel Obito's frown at that. "Why? They're our comrades, aren't they?"

I felt a brief shot of anger before I shoved it down. Coolly, I turned my head to eye him. "Obito, haven't you learned by now? _Us_ or them. _We_ are team Minato. This is a competition Obito. They are not our comrades now; they are our enemies. Are you really choosing enemies over us, _again_?"

Obito's eyes were wide with hurt. "N-No! I mean I would choose you guys over anyone, really, I meant what I said at the hospital, hime. I just—I mean they're going to be our comrades, aren't they? When this is all over?"

"Maybe," Kakashi muttered. "There's no guarantee they'll join us in the Chūnin ranks, or even if they will survive the war."

Obito balked that. "So wait, you're actually saying that—that, what? That they _might_ die so they aren't worth the effort? We shouldn't try to—?"

"That's not exactly what we're saying, Obito," I returned, my voice clipped. "We will become proper Chūnin, Obito, after this. We will have to stay impartial to make the proper judgements. Those that remain Genin... they will be _our_ responsibility in the war. If we are partial to them, if we are attached to them..."

"Our judgement would be impaired," Kakashi said softly. "It would be unlikely to make rational decisions in regards to them. We, theoretically, lack the experience and maturity to detach ourselves enough to do so. That's a trait for Jōnin, not Chūnin. It's why only Jōnin lead Genin, and Chūnin just lead more Chūnin into battle. We shouldn't get attached outside our team because it's risky enough as it is. It's why teams are so small, why they discourage teams from training with each other. We are soldiers. We cannot, absolutely _cannot_ , risk impairing our judgement during missions. You know what happens when we do, Obito."

Obito's brow was furrowed and he folded his arms across his chest. "But..."

I thought back to the naked bodies of children and women on the front lines. I thought of the mutilated corpses. Of the beaten animals.

Each of them a stranger, yet each of them left a chilling mark on Kakashi and myself.

I could not imagine loving any of those poor people. I could not imagine caring for any of them.

There was a reason shinobi were not supposed to be emotional.

We would break, otherwise.

Obito had to learn that. He had to learn not to care about others outside his team—outside the only people that matter, that _should_ matter. It was too risky.

"Trust us on this," I said, my voice a little softer, a little kinder. "For now, Obito, just trust us on this. After you have been to the frontlines... once you have seen what we have seen... then you can judge, then you can give us your opinion. But, until you have seen what we have seen, and done what we have done... just trust us on this."

His gaze lowered. Obito bit his bottom lip and nodded his head. "I trust you. I never... I never want to endanger either of you."

I smiled at him. It was the kind of smile I saved special for Kushina, or Kakashi on a really good day. "I know." I reached forward and took his hand with one hand, and grabbed Kakashi's with my other. "Besides, you don't need anyone else, but us. We don't need anyone else, but us."

Both boys squeezed my hands.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

I woke up first the next morning. I could hear Obito and Kakashi sleeping deeply in the room. The three of us had stayed in our room all day yesterday and all last night, with absolutely no fuss from Obito. Since I woke up first, I decided to take advantage of the fact and took complete control of the bathroom for however long I wanted. By the time I had finished grooming myself to my satisfaction both boys were giving me irritable glares. I just smiled, relishing their displeasure.

When it neared noon we were all ready to go and the three of us headed out.

I followed Kakashi and Obito into the arena. It was a fairly big concrete room. There were dark blood stains on the concrete floor, and cracks in the balconies and walls. The fences looked old and rusty. I saw that there were about twelve other Genin scattered around the right side balcony. The only people I recognized were Anko, Rin, Asuma, and Kurenai. The left side balcony was filled with Jōnin, some Chūnin, and... members of the council.

I felt Danzō's eyes on me as soon as I entered the room. The warmonger seemed to be giving me a tight smile, and I graciously returned it with my most benevolent smile. The Hokage, Hiruzen, was talking quietly with other members of the council.

Dragging my gaze away from Danzō (which sent all kinds of hairs standing up on the back of my neck) I continued to follow my team up the stairs and onto the balcony.

"Obito-kun!"

Obito twitched, his cheeks flushing as he stiffly turned towards the bright-eyed Rin. The girl made her way over to our team and looked us over, her eyes lingered a moment or two longer on Kakashi than necessary. Kakashi obviously noticed that and shifted his posture to a more stand-offish tone.

"H-Hey, Rin-ch—ah, um... I mean Rin-san," Obito greeted, his eyes darting over to me.

Rin blinked in surprise at that. "San? Obito-kun, is something wrong?"

Obito shook his head, shuffling his feet. "No, Rin-ch-san. I just... This is a competition, so don't think I'll go easy on you, okay?"

Rin giggled in a very feminine manner. "Of course not, Obito-kun! I'm so glad you made it to the final stage. I was worried about you, you know. I couldn't find you after the first stage; you had left so soon."

Obito just nodded his head, his cheeks still red. I could practically feel waves of discomfort rolling off him.

Rin seemed to sense that, as well, because she frowned and her brow furrowed. "Obito-kun? Are... are you sure you're okay? Are you... maybe... mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you, Rin-san," Obito said firmly, and then whatever courage he had mustered up dissolved under Rin's scrutiny soon afterwards. Obito's eyes flickered towards me and I could see a pleading light in them.

Taking the hint, I cleared my throat and positioned myself in between Obito and Rin. Startled, Rin took a step backwards at my sudden invasion of her space. I smiled at her. The smile did not reach my eyes.

"I think, perhaps, it would be best if we stayed with our teams, Rin-san," I told her politely. "It is protocol, after all, and I do believe Obito wants to stick to the rules on this one."

Rin's eyes darted in between me and Obito (who would not meet her gaze and was steadily looking down at his feet). Hurt briefly crossed over her face, but she swallowed it down and smiled wobbly. "O-Oh. I see. S-Sorry for the trouble. Good luck!"

After she had left I turned around and patted Obito on the shoulder. The boy just sighed and leaned on the railings, burying his face in his arms. Kakashi and I exchanged glances.

I mouthed to Kakashi, _She liked you._ I even gave him a teasing wink.

He cringed and signed, _Bad._

A shame there wasn't a signal for gross. I had a feeling he would have chosen that one instead.

The thought made me giggle. It seemed Kakashi was against that kind of thing as much as I was. It was nice feeling like I wasn't the only one to hate puberty. Kakashi smiled at me under his mask—something hard to notice unless you were so used to his face, and you already had seen his real face, so you knew what to look for.

" _Ah-hem_ ," Hiruzen cleared his throat, causing everyone to focus in on the Hokage. "It pleases me to see so many potential Chūnins make it all the way to this final stage. Normally we would give you a month or so to prepare yourselves properly, but I think we all understand how precious our time is. Inotaki," Hiruzen gestured towards a gruff blond man standing in below the screen at the back wall of the arena, "has created a bracket for this tournament. The rules from the previous stage apply here, as well as a time limit. Each battle has fifteen minutes to be concluded, should a victory not be decided by then, then both participants are disqualified."

At the end of Hiruzen's speech the screen above the blond man lit up and a tournament bracket was posted.

_**Round One:** _ _Sarutobi Asuma vs Uchiha Terasu_

_**Round Two:** _ _Hatake Kakashi vs Nomi Yuka_

_**Round Three:** _ _Nohara Rin vs Yamanaka Diashi_

_**Round Four:** _ _Uchiha Obito vs Hyūga Miashi_

_**Round Five:** _ _Morino Ibiki vs Namiashi Raido_

_**Round Six:**_ _Yuhi Kurenai vs Inuzaka Renjiro_

_**Round Seven:** _ _Senju Naasica vs Hyūga Chokuziro_

_**Round Eight:** _ _Mitarashi Anko vs Hayate Gekkou_

_**Round Nine:** _ _(Winner of Round One vs Winner of Round Two)_

_**Round Ten:** _ _(Winner of Round Three vs Winner of Round Four)_

_**Round Eleven:** _ _(Winner of Round Five vs Winner of Round Six)_

_**Round Twelve:** _ _(Winner of Round Seven vs Winner of Round Eight)_

_**Round Thirteen:** _ _(Winner of Round Nine vs Winner of Round Ten)_

_**Round Fourteen:** _ _(Winner of Round Eleven vs Winner of Round Twelve)_

_**Round Fifteen:** _ _(Winner of Round Thirteen vs Winner of Round Fourteen)_

I frowned briefly at having to face a Hyūga. It would seem like it would be in my best interest to end the battle as soon as possible rather than let it drag out. It didn't matter if I won, or not, the Chūnin rank was guaranteed for me, as well as Kakashi.

I could just forfeit right away. I doubt Hiruzen would really care—he just wants another supporter in the Clan Council. Not to mention with a long-empty seat filled it would prevent others (lesser clans wanting desperately to rise to the ranks) from trying to vie for the spot (which I imagine having pests constantly bother you about it would get annoying after a while, so having the spot filled would be one less headache). I wouldn't do that, though, not right away at least. Madara would scold me if I gave up essentially a free training session, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to show off my prowess at the same time.

Rolling my shoulders, I surveyed my competition. Really, only Obito and Kakashi could pose even a minor threat, and since I was on the opposite side of the bracket of them I likely wouldn't face one of them until the final round. The others didn't really matter, in my completely humble opinion. I popped my neck and then swung over the railing and sat on it, my legs swinging out.

Obito mimicked my actions, an excited gleam in his eyes. "I can't wait to take that snobby Hyūga down a notch! He's had it coming to him since the academy."

"Was the Hyūga mean to you, little boy?" I cooed. "Poor baby!"

Obito stuck his tongue out at me, which caused Kakashi to smack him on the back. "Keep that tongue to yourself unless you want it chopped off."

Obito stuck his tongue out a second time, this time at Kakashi, which resulted in Kakashi shoving Obito off the railing. Obito fell backwards, but he swung around to stand underneath, upside down, from the balcony. " _Ha_! I won't fall for that a second time."

"I don't think Kakashi throwing a rock and knocking you out of a tree counts as a first time in relation to this," I said carefully.

Obito snorted at that.

While we were having our little interaction the first two contestants had moved down into the arena where the proctor stood.

The Jōnin raised his hand and blew his whistle.

Frankly, it wasn't a very impressive showing.

I knew that none of these people had seen the front lines. None of them had strayed very far outside of Konoha. They had _heard_ of the horrors. They _vaguely_ knew of the horrors; but, they did not _comprehend_ the truth of the frontline; they did not understand the grotesqueness that seemed to flourish there; the heart-stopping fear and blinding rage and grief that consumed lesser men; the constant feeling of _never_ being safe.

Did they even understand the psychological ramifications of feeling completely unsafe for _years_? Of being constantly on alert, constantly on guard, _constantly afraid_?

No.

While I'm sure each of those children— _for how could they be anything, but? With those gleaming eyes, that aura of innocence, that aura of_ trusting—were talented in their own right, they all lacked a certain drive. They were not driven to survive. They did not push themselves over, and over, and over until they simply could not walk, could not breathe, without pain keeping them company.

In comparison to those that had that drive, those that constantly overworked themselves...

It was a pond versus the ocean.

My eyes drifted closed as I just listened to what was happening below.

It was sad, really. These children who wanted nothing more than help their village— _wanted nothing more, but to go to war_ —would be in for a cruel awakening. These children who wanted nothing more, who _desperately_ wanted nothing more, than to become Chūnin, would look back upon their happy days of innocence with longing soon enough. The war would break them.

Some would not survive. The rest wouldn't escape unscathed, _unclaimed by the cruelty of life._

Yet they kept trying, kept wishing and hoping to become that coveted Chūnin, not really knowing, not really understanding what they were signing themselves up for.

A tragedy in the making.

_How befitting of this wretched world. Yet again I am forced to watch as this world converts more child soldiers and rips away every shred of humanity from them. They will become tools for Konoha, to either be used or discarded._

_Truly this world needs me and Madara. Without us there would be no hope for them, no way to break this cycle of disgust._

Sarutobi had won his match, albeit barely.

The Uchiha was a genjutsu user, but apparently not a very good one. It had deteriorated into a taijutsu match after Asuma broke free from the genjutsu and they were seemingly equal on that part. Unfortunately for the Uchiha Asuma got a lucky shot in that ended up deciding the match.

Not without a heavy price, though. Hiruzen's son was panting heavily, already exhausted, and looked more than battered.

Kakashi rolled his shoulder before calmly walking down the stairs and into the arena below.

"Kakashi," I called out sweetly, "since you kept me waiting for so long during your last fight I have decided to give you an incentive: if you don't finish within the first three minutes _I will show you my displeasure_."

Kakashi gave me a weary look, at which I batted my eyelashes at him and smiled cutely. He paled, which caused Obito to snicker.

"I forfeit!"

All eyes snapped towards the girl who was blushing as bright as Kushina's hair while she looked longingly down at Kakashi.

"What," Obito deadpanned.

"Works for me," Kakashi declared, turning away and heading back up the stairs.

The proctor stared at the obvious fan girl for several seconds before he nodded his head. "Very well. Nohara and Yamanaka, come down."

"That's not fair," Obito whined as he flipped back over the railing to land beside Kakashi and glare at him. "How can you _still_ have fan girls? You guys just visited our class _once_!"

"He's too cute," I explained, reaching over and patting Kakashi's cheek. "Just look at him."

Kakashi swatted at my hand and scoffed at Obito. "It doesn't matter, does it? For all you know she just understood how better I am than her and decided to take the smarter route. Save herself a hospital trip."

"Yeah, right," Obito snorted.

A curious thought popped into my head. "Obito, I understand that the girls were very taken by Kakashi when we visited your class once... enough so that they remained _dedicated_ to him... do I... do I have any stalkers from your class?"

Kakashi looked vaguely worried. "You don't actually think...?"

Obito frowned, his brow furrowed as he thought about it. "Well, the girls talked about Kakashi a lot because he was this big shot prodigy. They pestered our teacher about him a lot. I don't remember any guys asking about you, though, hime."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Winner, Nohara Rin!"

The three of us looked down at the arena. I was mildly impressed that she managed to win so quickly before I realized what had happened. The Yamanaka had tried to use his family's trademark move... and apparently missed. The Yamanaka was already being rushed out of the arena on a stretcher. Rin looked a little guilty as she headed back up the stairs.

Obito looked torn for a moment and kept looking over at the guilty Rin (she looked like someone had just killed her puppy or something) and me. I patted his arm and leaned over to him, batting my eyelashes and smiling in an absolutely adorable fashion, "I'm applying the three-minute rule to you as well."

Obito squawked. " _What_. But I'm against a Hyūga!"

"I trained you, _dear Obito_. I expect you to be superior to every last one of these little Genin outside our team. If you fail to defeat him in three minutes you are telling the world that I _failed_ to train you to my standards; that I _failed_ to judge your power and skill correct. Obito... _I do not fail_."

Obito gulped nervously. "R-Right. I won't let you down, Oni-hime."

"I know," I purred, fluttering my eyelashes at him.

Obito made his way down to the arena where the Hyūga was already waiting for him.

"Look, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I just don't have the time to mess around. So, try not to take this the wrong way, okay? I'm going to kick your ass and you're going to be unconscious within the minute."

The Hyūga scoffed. "You were the deadlast of our class, Uchiha. You're a disgrace to shinobi everywhere and—"

"Begin!"

Obito did not let the Hyūga finish. In one quick flourish he created ten clones that surrounded the Hyūga. While Obito did indeed have the chakra capacity to create ten shadow clones it would leave him with half his chakra and I doubt he would be so stupid as do something like that. He still had a few matches to go, including facing Kakashi. The most likely thing he did was create two shadow clones and the rest were standard genjutsu clones.

The Hyūga sneered, " _Byakugan_! I will see which one of you is the re—"

Once again Obito did not let him finish. All of the clones went through the rapid handseals for his Majestic Fireball Jutsu. By the time the Hyūga got to the word _real_ , Obito and all his clones breathed out the jutsu.

Three _ginormous_ fireballs filled the arena, completely covering the area the Hyūga was last in. I could tell from the heat that Obito had significantly toned down his jutsu. Katon ninjutsu wasn't true fire, it did not burn like real fire most of the time, unless a significant amount of chakra was pumped into it. A small katon ninjutsu, at worst, could give someone a sunburn.

That seemed to be what Obito was aiming for, because the moment the fire died down a very red-faced Hyūga was kneeling at the center. He looked dazed— _he was likely blinded by the bright light of all that katon chakra_ —and didn't even defend himself when Obito dashed to him and knocked him out.

Two shadow clones, eight genjutsu clones, and three low-level katon ninjutsus. That's all it took to end the match in under a minute.

When Obito came back up to the balcony I told him, "I'm very impressed with you, Obito. Well done."

"It was a smart match," Kakashi said, awarding Obito with a rare smile.

Obito's cheeks turned bright red and he rubbed the back of his head. "You guys are great. If it weren't for you two..."

"We know," Kakashi and I said.

The next two matches continued, both similar to how Asuma's was. Ibiki won his, and Kurenai won hers.

When it was my turn I calmly walked down the stairs and approached the Hyūga. Unlike the Hyūga Obito had faced, this one wasn't giving off an aura of arrogance.

"Since I set Obito and Kakashi to a three-minute limit, it only makes sense I set myself the same limit," I drawled, smiling coyly at the Hyūga. "I don't suppose you would be willing to forfeit?"

"I understand you are superior than me, Senju-sama," the Hyūga said quietly, "but I would be remiss not to even try."

"Very well," I said. "I will do my best not to grievously harm you, since you already know your place."

"Narcissist!" Obito called down.

I turned my head to glance over at Obito. "What kind of demon princess would I be if I _wasn't_ obnoxiously arrogant?"

"She has a point," Kakashi said.

" _Begin!_ "

My hands flew out in front of me, palms facing the Hyūga, and then dozens of trees grew out from my arms completely filling the arena and surrounding the Hyūga. From those trees dozens upon _dozens_ of little branches whipped out, covered in sharp needles and severely limiting the Hyūga's space. The moment the Hyūga's hands snapped out to try and destroy one of the branches three more grew out around it. The poor boy had no room to maneuver.

"I should warn you now," I called out, "that I can make every piece of wood explode into thousands of needles. Forfeit within the next fifteen seconds, or I will start detonating."

A heartbeat of silence passed before a quiet voice said, "I forfeit."

I withdrew all the trees back inside of my hands, smiling brightly. "Smart choice!" With ease I leapt straight up to the balcony railing. I cleared my throat expectantly and with a sigh both boys raised their hands and "assisted me down". "Thank you, boys."

Anko won her match surprisingly quickly. I was pleased that I did not have to be kept waiting for an _eternity_ for the other matches to finish up.

When she had won, it was time to start the second part.

The first match was Asuma against Kakashi. The battered Asuma made his way down to the arena, looking very much like he would rather be anywhere else. Kakashi moved at a more lackadaisical pace, completely untouched and well-rested.

Asuma eyed Kakashi tiredly. "I take it you'll try to finish this in less than three minutes?"

"I'd rather not have the Oni-hime mad at me," Kakashi said, nodding his head. "No one quite understands the pain of splinters until... well..."

I giggled, knowing exactly what he was thinking about.

"Begin."

Two clones appeared on either side of Kakashi. Both clones slammed their palms down into the ground and summoned four walls surrounding Asuma and Kakashi. I lost sight of the two of them inside, but I heard the familiar cracking of Kakashi's Chidori (still in the making, of course) and then spears of lightning danced out from the top of the box.

There was a strangled yell and then the lightning was cut short, and the walls crumbled into dirt.

Kakashi stood over an unconscious Asuma, brushing off bits of dirt that had fell onto his shoulder. After he gave Asuma another look over he shrugged and headed back up to the balcony.

The proctor gestured for the next contestants to come down as Asuma was carried away in a stretcher.

Obito looked a little nervous as he went down into the arena to face Rin.

"No hard feelings, Rin-san?" Obito asked hesitantly.

Rin smiled brightly. "Never, Obito-kun! Let's both try our best."

"Ri-ight," Obito said slowly.

Kakashi leaned over to me and asked quietly, "Why is he so uncomfortable?"

"She's the love of his life," I told him, my tone almost mocking. "He now has to choose again: us, or _her_." Raising my voice, I sung, "O-bi-to."

"I know! I know! Three minutes!"

_Us. Or her._

Despite saying that Obito still looked extremely uncomfortable. Even after the proctor signaled to start Obito stood there for an entire minute before he finally seemed to make up his mind. He shook his head and declared, "I'm going to be the next Hokage, and I'm sorry Rin-san, but I can't lose to you here!"

He dashed towards her, his Sharingan spinning to life. Rin stumbled back and I saw that she had seized. I instantly knew that Obito must have snagged her in a low-level genjutsu from his Sharingan. Rin's hands moved too slowly to release it and Obito was already upon her, delivering a decisive knee kick into her diaphragm, forcing her to bend over as the air left her. In the same instant he slammed the back of his right elbow into the back of her neck and she crumpled.

He let out a quiet sigh, lowering her unconscious body to the ground gently.

A vindictive pleasure fluttered in the pit of my stomach. Obito prior to training with me would have _never_ even _dreamed_ about laying a hand on his precious Rin. I felt immensely proud of my thorough conditioning. Obito had, essentially, chosen _us_ against _her_.

When he returned to our side I leaned over to him and whispered in his ear, just for him, "You chose us, Obito. That trust will not go unrewarded."

He smiled hesitantly at me. "Does that mean you trust me again?"

"You have earned my trust back," I told him.

"I suppose you have mine, as well," Kakashi said reluctantly, and Obito's face just _lit up_ like he was the sun coming over the horizon.

The next round lasted a bit longer than the others. Kurenai was talented with genjutsu, but Ibiki—her teammate, I guessed—was well acquainted with throwing them off. Each time right before Kurenai was about to secure her victory Ibiki broke free from the genjutsu and fended her off. After one such attempt Ibiki feigned to still be under the genjutsu forcing Kurenai to approach him and in that instant he surprised her and defeated her.

Next up was my battle with Anko, and I knew it wouldn't last long, either.

I met her in the middle and sneered at her. "Save me the trouble and forfeit, won't you, dear?"

Anko smirked at me. "Someone has to take you down. Might as well be me."

I chortled. "How cute. I am going to enjoy breaking you, _child_."

"Begin!"

Anko lunged towards me, but I wasn't going to let her get close to poison me. I raised my right hand up into the air and a wall of wood erupted from the concrete. The wood reached all the way up to the ceiling. More wood erupted around Anko and I knew I had boxed her in. The only way out would be for her to go through the wood or to tunnel her way out. I wasn't sure if she knew how to do so, but just in case I had my wood intersect underneath her, creating a sphere underneath the concrete.

"I could make you a pincushion, but I'd rather not get scolded by the Hokage," I told her amiably, placing my left hand on the wooden wall.

There was a resounding smack from the inside of the wooden wall and I knew Anko had kicked it. It was followed by an immediate yelp as she realized that the wood quickly grew around her foot and was circling her.

I knew she was starting to dig frantically at the wood, chopping off chunks of it with her kunai.

 _If she knew any katon ninjutsu this wouldn't be an issue,_ I thought. _How unfortunate for her that her style is doton._

Sadly, for Anko I had my mokuton grow faster than she could chop it until she became effectively encased in it except her mouth. I lowered my wooden walls and glanced at the proctor. "I could kill her now. Care to call it?"

" _No_!" Anko cried out.

The proctor nodded his head. "Senju-sama is the victor for this match."

With a snap of my fingers my wood crumbled away from Anko and she stumbled. She awarded me a rather seething and positively _hateful_ glower, to which I returned with an _ohsovery_ sweet smile. With a saunter in my steps I headed back up the stairs and gave a mock bow to my teammates.

"I wish I had mokuton," Obito said ruefully. "Then I'd just have to snap my fingers to win."

My right eyebrow twitched at that. "It is _not_ that easy."

Obito shrugged. "You make it look like it."

"I've also been training to do just that much since I was _four_. I'd rather have the Sharingan! I could copy and steal any damn ninjutsu I wanted to."

"It is _so_ not that easy! "I rolled my eyes at that and Obito smiled good naturedly. "Okay I see your point."

"Uchiha Obito and Hatake Kakashi, please advance to the arena."

Both boys glanced at each other before walking down the stairs and heading to the proctor. Obito's brow furrowed suddenly and he looked up at me. "Hime, you don't expect us to actually keep to the three minutes, do you? Kakashi and I can never finish our fights that early."

"Of course I expect you to," I told him, surprised he even had to ask.

Kakashi's eyes widened and Obito squawked. " _What?!_ How can you—?!"

"There will be plenty of scenarios where you will be limited in your time frame while still facing a powerful opponent," I pointed out reasonably. "Think of this as practice."

"You are evil incarnate," Obito told me.

"Naasica, don't you think that's a little unnecessary?" Kakashi asked.

"Nope," I said. "Three minutes, or I will fill both your mattresses with splinters again to be detonated at my leisure."

Kakashi cringed, and Obito whimpered.

I noticed that many of the specters on the opposite balcony (the council, Hokage, senseis, and so on) were greatly amused by us. Even the proctor was fighting to keep a smile off his face.

It seemed my infamy was well-known.

_Demon princess, indeed. Wonder what they would think if they realized just how monstrous I really was?_

"Begin," the proctor declared.

Both boys looked at each other uncomfortably before Obito's eyes widened and a grin lit up his face. Kakashi eyed him warily.

Obito's right hand shot out in a fist and he held it out to Kakashi. Kakashi stared at it for several moments before his eyes widened in realization and he held out his own right hand in a fist.

They begin to move their fists up and down, counting to three. At three Kakashi's fist transformed into a flat palm and Obito was making the peace-sign.

They both stared at their hands for a moment before Kakashi raised his hand and said, "I forfeit."

I slapped the palm of my hand to my face.

Many chuckles were heard from the opposite balcony. Obito beamed at Kakashi and the two of them made their way back up to the balcony.

"Pretty ingenious, huh," Obito needled, nudging my arm.

"Completely unrealistic," I sniffed.

"We can fight properly during training," Kakashi pointed out.

I huffed and hopped over the railing and down into the arena below where Ibiki was already waiting.

Deciding that I had used enough mokuton for the exams, I pulled out my tessen.

"Do I get the privilege of not facing your mokuton ninjutsu?" Ibiki asked dryly, motioning towards my tessen.

"You do. Feel honored."

"Lucky me."

" _Begin_!"

I summoned eleven clones and all of us rushed in towards Ibiki. Despite the boy being tired and a little run down, he did a decent job at dodging the majority of my clones. He even got in a few successful substitutions. Regrettably for Ibiki, though, he just wasn't on the same level that I was used to facing. It was almost _too_ easy pressuring him into a corner and systematically breaking his bones throughout the match. First a rib, then a humerus, then both ulna, followed by more ribs...

Really, did he think getting hit by the blunt side of my tessen _wouldn't_ hurt? Or was he really that slow, and I that fast?

I ended the match at exactly two minutes and fifty seconds.

Placing my tessen away, I folded my arms across my chest and glared up at Obito. "Hurry up and come down here, little boy, you know I'm not a patient person."

Obito yelped and hurried to me, jumping over the unconscious Ibiki that was (like many others had been) being carried away in a stretcher.

He stopped short in front of me, chewing on his bottom lip anxiously.

I stared at Obito and he stared back at me. My eyes narrowed while I thought. He shuffled his feet nervously.

"Begin."

A heartbeat passed before I let out a begrudging sigh and held out my left hand in a fist.

Obito's eyes lit up with glee and he returned the favor. After one round of rock-paper-scissors I let out yet another sigh and said, "I forfeit."

Obito gaped at me, still staring in bewilderment at his hand that was still in the shape of a rock.

The proctor shook his head, not able to keep the chuckle out. He then cleared his throat and said, "Very well, the winner of the Chūnin Exams is Uchiha Obito!"

There was scattered applause and Obito's cheeks turned rosy. I flickered to stand beside Kakashi, who kept clapping, while the Hokage presented Obito with a shiny medal and a piece of paper.

"You let him win," Kakashi said while he still clapped.

"So did you," I returned.

Obito was always slower than us, and likely always would be. In between one heartbeat to the next Obito's hands twitched before he showed what form his hand would take. It would be easy to change what our own hands would turn into, and counter him.

"I'm already guaranteed to become a Chūnin," Kakashi said. "Winning doesn't matter to me."

"It does matter to him, though," I said softly, clapping.

Obito was beaming, his face as red as a rose and a couple tears escaped his eyes. Hiruzen smiled at the boy, patted his back and said, "Well done, Obito-kun."

And Kakashi and I knew, in that moment, that today was probably the best day in Obito's life.

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

The next morning the three of us were called into the Hokage's office.

On his desk were three Chūnin flaks. Obito's eyes zeroed in on them like sunlight through a magnifying glass.

"Congratulations are in order," Hiruzen said gesturing for us to take the flaks. "You three made quite the showing and we all are very proud of you. I suggest you three take the day to celebrate as first thing tomorrow I will have your very first Chūnin assignment for your team."

Obito shakily accepted his flak while Kakashi and I took our own.

"Dismissed, except for Senju-hime," Hiruzen said.

The two boys shot me a look and I told them, "Wait for me by the tree. I, ah, need to talk to you both about something, anyway."

Once they left, and the door clicked shut, Hiruzen bluntly asked me, "Did you finish the paperwork?"

"Yes, I already submitted it on my way to your office today," I told him. "I expect I will be wanted in the next meeting?"

"Yes, but you will not be able to attend," Hiruzen said. "I will speak plainly: your skills are invaluable in this war. There have been some unexpected changes and we can no longer afford to protect such a powerful weapon as yourself."

"Shall I return to the front lines?"

"Very likely. Given how competent your team has shown itself I will assign them to the front lines with you."

"Will Minato-sensei be joining us?"

"Unlikely. You are perfectly capable of leading a mission on your own, as is Kakashi, and perhaps Obito. I will, of course, give you more detailed instructions tomorrow morning."

I nodded, accepting this. I knew I would return to the frontlines eventually. The mokuton was simply too powerful to _not_ use. After my showing in the exams the council probably felt comfortable enough that I could survive, and be useful, on the frontlines. Either that, or they were desperate enough that they simply could not afford _not_ to use me.

Since Hiruzen had spoken plainly to me, I decided to return the favor. "I wish to advance to the Jōnin rank, alongside Kakashi and Obito."

Hiruzen nodded, seemingly expecting this. "You understand that in order to become a Jōnin you must have at least three other Jōnin's recommend you for the promotion. I am certain that any member of the council would have no issue pushing for your promotion, as well as Kakashi's. Obito remains too much of an unknown with his skill level—" Hiruzen raised his hand when I started to object, "I understand that you personally trained him and we have you to thank for turning a deadlast into someone so useful. He has not been to the frontlines before, though, and given how badly he misjudged on the last mission..."

"That has been rectified," I assured Hiruzen. "He will never place anyone else above the team's mission, or the team."

Hiruzen smiled faintly at that. The smile did not reach his eyes.

"I will have to decline a Jōnin promotion until Obito will also be accepted," I said slowly. "My team is very important to me, Hiruzen, and I plan for us to become the new Sannin. That cannot be accomplished if we advanced at different rates. People would automatically judge Obito as the weak link and only see me and Kakashi carrying him. Such circumstances would prevent us from becoming the new Sannin."

The Hokage's brow furrowed at that. "An admirable goal, hime. I see no reason to rush forward with your promotion, or Kakashi's, so I find it acceptable to wait a while. If Obito has proven himself on the frontlines I am certain the council would consent to promoting him with you and Kakashi."

I beamed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nodded once again. "Do try to survive the war, hime. I'd rather not have to face your grandmother in the afterlife and tell her why I outlived you."

"Perish the thought."

**(** **ง ⌣** **~ ⌣)** **ง**

I leaned against the cherry tree, relaxing as Obito and Kakashi slipped on their Chūnin flaks. Obito was doing a sort of dance, hopping from one foot to another in absolute glee. Kakashi, while I knew he was certainly pleased, controlled himself better.

I took a giant deep breath, settled the nerves in the pit of my stomach and bluntly said, "I've hit puberty, and it's time I acknowledged and addressed some concerns."

Kakashi grimaced while Obito cringed.

"You needn't worry about my reactions. I can't control how I feel, but I feel confident that I can control how I act," I started to reassure them. "Which brings me to the biggest point. It seems that I find you both very physically attractive, and I likely have developed crushes on both of you—"

Their eyes widened almost comically, and each of their faces flamed red.

"—but don't worry, I won't act on those feelings. I just wanted to warn both of you, as to explain any upcoming odd reactions I might have that I cannot fully control. And you, especially Kakashi, as I'm certain you'll soon be learning to smell pheromones."

Obito covered his face with the palm of his hands and bent over, his cheeks redder than Kushina's hair. " _Oh my God you don't just say that stuff like that!_ "

"I, uh," Kakashi began, clearing his throat. "I appreciate the warning, and I will respect your actions. I, uh, suppose, then, you should be aware that I find you attractive as well, and I, uh—I, _um_..." His face was turning redder, and his voice cracked a bit. I knew he was doing his best to remain nonchalant about it, though, and I felt for my friend as I knew emotions were hard to control. "I _apologize_ for any upcoming... situations that may make you uncomfortable."

"I understand," I reassured him, "and it's perfectly natural."

Obito was choking. " _You don't—what—what—?!_ What is _wrong_ with you two?! How can you be so, so, so _blasé?!_ "

"Bringing out the big words today aren't we," Kakashi muttered, shoving his hands in his pocket and shooting Obito a narrowed-eyed look.

"Blasé is not a— _that's not the point here!_ " Obito squealed.

"I think it is now," I said, latching onto an easy conversation changer.

Obito started making squeaky noises.

Kakashi and I exchanged sheepish smiles.

We would be damned if puberty got the best of us.


	17. Massacre

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kick ass fan art made by Cantrona on deviantART.

**Ever on and on, I continue circling with nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony -**

**'til slowly I forget and my heart starts vanishing and suddenly I see that I can't break free -**

**I am slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity with nothing, but my pain and the paralyzing agony -**

**to tell me who I am, who I was, uncertainty enveloping my mind 'til I can't break free -**

**\- Bad Apple**

_She worked with careful hands, her long fingers coiled perfectly around the needle._

_Red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple; an array of colored yarn fanned out around her._

_Tsunade paused in her work, a soft smile on her face. "Little sapling, I see you there."_

_I poked my head out. "What are you making?"_

" _A blanket."_

" _A blanket?"_

" _A blanket for you," she said, she reached towards me and affectionately tucked my hair behind my ear._

" _For me," I echoed, dumbfounded._

" _So when I'm gone you can wrap this around you and know that somewhere, I am thinking of you, and that I love you."_

" _You love me?"_

" _Always, and always."_

" _Always, and always?"_

" _Always, and - "_

. . .

. .

.

**You fucking liar.**

. . .

. .

.

I rolled out of bed and glanced over at my alarm clock. I smiled when I realized it was precisely two in the morning. Carefully, I checked the house to see if its inhabitants were asleep, they were.

I wasted little time in teleporting myself to Madara's cave, expecting another night of cleaning the man; but, I was pleasantly surprised.

Madara was up from his bed and seated at a work bench a little ways away from it, sharpening a candlelight glittered ominously off it, and illuminated his face in a warm glow. He glimpsed up from his work upon my arrival and awarded me with a thin smile. "I take it you were victorious in your exams."

"I am an official Chūnin," I confirmed. "The Hokage claims that he will push for my Jōnin promotion along with my team depending on the success we have on the frontlines."

Madara stood up from where he sat, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "I see. When will you be leaving?"

"Likely tomorrow. I don't think I'll be able to sneak away to visit you while I am there."

Madara nodded his head, his gaze still contemplative. "I suppose it is time to speed things up, then. I had meant to reward you for your success, but that will have to wait until you return to the village on a more permanent basis."

"How shall we speed things up, Madara-sama?"

His eyes gleamed and a brief smile ghosted across his lips. "We are going to cheat, woman. It is time the world took you seriously as a credible threat, and now that you will be joining in the politics of Konoha you need to be viewed as a powerhouse. Alliances must be made both as my apprentice, and as the Senju heiress. This cannot be done without the world thinking you are the next Hashirama in the making."

I frowned. "I'm nowhere near that strong, though. I barely have a quarter of your chakra reserves; at best I'm... I'm B rank. You and that damnable grandfather of mine were easily SSS."

Madara nodded his head. "I am aware. I have faith that under my tutelage you will truly rise to S, perhaps even SS; but, we no longer have the time to waste. The war will be over soon, I imagine in a year or so, and war is the best way to make a name for yourself. Our window of opportunity is short, and therefore we must cheat."

"I understand, Madara-sama. What are your orders?"

"Strip."

The word threw me for a loop. Because the word _strip_ was not something to be associated with _Madara-sama_. The words naked, hormones, sex, sex drive, libido, lust, _stripping_ —none of that fit with _the_ Madara.

So, _clearly_ , I must have heard wrong.

I cleared my throat, feeling mildly embarrassed that my voice cracked at what I asked next. "Wha-at?"

Madara tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. "I said strip. Underwear included."

 _He could not_ possibly...

Hormonal side, " _If he thinks that we're too sexually frustrated to be productive he might! The man is practical to a scary degree. Furthermore if he deems that we need to use our_ willies _to seduce others, he might think it's best we weren't a virgin to do that!"_

Logical side, " _Relax. He is an old decrepit man, there is simply on way his libido still works. Not even going to mention how unprofessional that would be, and the man is professionalism embodied."_

Hormonal side, " _You cannot possibly know he has no libido left. You_ know _there is a direct correlation to how much chakra one has and how strong his/her libido is. The man is hooked up to the_ world's largest source of chakra _. His chakra capacity is friggin infinite at this point."_

A split second of silence in my head.

_Why is my logical side not arguing against that?!_

Logical side, " _Uh... At least he's experienced."_

Madara seemed to realize my discomfort because a slow, insufferable smirk crawled across his face, and he chortled. "It seems puberty has graced you with its presence. I must say I am very flattered by your... _opinion_ of me."

My heart fluttered and I couldn't resist the urge to bury my face in my hands in utter mortification, knowing my face was redder than roses.

_Someone, please kill me now. I don't want to live anymore._

"Perhaps if you were a bit older, and I was a bit younger, I would take you up on that."

My skin was the sun by that point, and my heart was louder than a rampaging bijū. For several seconds I was immobilized by how sheerly uncomfortable I felt at that time.

I peeked out from behind my fingers, and realized something.

 _He's_ teasing _me!_

Indeed, Madara was still smirking while his eyes danced with clear amusement at my suffering.

_Two can play at that game._

I lowered my hands and shot back, "There's always genjutsu."

He blinked. He _laughed_ ; it was raspy, but it shook his entire frame and he clutched at his side. He wheezed, "Ah, ha... I had forgotten... ah. Thank you, woman, for that. Returning to the point on hand: strip now."

Still blushing I did as he ordered and placed my clothes over on his throne.

"Lay on the bed. This will take a while," Madara instructed. He brought over a stack of small papers, an ink vessel, and brush. I laid on my back on his bed, shivering from the chilly air. Madara pulled a chair up to the bed and sait down. "I created these seals last summer."

A curious frown tugged at my lips. I wanted to know what seals he was going to use, but I knew it was not my place to ask. I only had to follow orders. I would have felt shameful of my earlier actions had it not made Madara laugh. The great shinobi did not smile often—laughter was even rarer. I would gladly suffer through any embarrassment if it would please him.

Madara rested the ink vessel and papers over my navel and he lifted one of the papers up to present it to me. I recognized it as a chakra storage seal.

"I am going to fuse these into you," Madara said. "You can trigger them remotely and for the next minute whatever chakra-costing technique you use will draw from the seals instead. I have stored well over half of my personal chakra in each seal. I did not use any of the Jūbi's chakra for obvious reasons."

My eyes widened as I realized the implication. I could use any technique with Madara's power behind it.

"I would advise that you use these carefully," Madara warned. "Your chakra pathways are growing and these seals have more than twice the amount of chakra your body is accustomed to. Do _not_ use more than four in a forty-eight hour timespan. You will need to wait at least another month before you use another one should you be forced to use four."

"Are there side effects I should anticipate for?"

"Yes. As I said before, your body is not accustomed to so much chakra and it will strain you to draw upon that power. The seals will release the chakra into your system for you to use any technique(s) you wish. The strain will rapidly fatigue your body, and the first time you use a seal you may very well pass out from the exertion. Do not use any of these seals unless you trust those around you to protect you while you are unconscious.

"Repeated use of the seals in a shortened time frame will add on to the strain of your chakra pathways. Four is your limit before the damage is unrepairable. I expect should you use four, some of your tenketsus will be blown, crippled, or oversensitive. In this case, it will take one to two weeks of rehabilitation before you could even consider using any chakra intensive jutsu. Obviously that is a situation that should be avoided while you are in the middle of a war zone.

"I will group these seals in groups of five to help hide them best, but I am afraid I cannot completely keep them from showing on the skin should you use them. This is why I will be placing them in areas that are less likely to be scrutinized. Do you have any more questions for me, woman?"  
I nodded my head, shivering slightly as Madara began to draw seals on my chest. Wet ink in a cold cave was something rather uncomfortable to have to touch bare. "Will others sense _your_ chakra when I use a seal?"

"No. The seal is merely a storage for chakra, and when activated it will push the chakra through your system. Your own chakra will naturally mix within it and should mask any of my own signature. A chakra sensor might notice something is off, but I highly doubt they would pursue it," Madara explained calmly, while working meticulously, "I am going to place fifty seals on you. Try not to have sex until you've used them all."

The blood rushed up to my face and I resisted the urge to cringe. "Speaking of sex... I don't suppose the Uchihas have some sort of secret amazing technique that suppresses the libido?"

"Nothing that would work for you," Madara dismissed.

Suppressing the urge to sigh at that, I closed my eyes instead. "Do you have any other orders for me to do at the frontlines?"

"Establish yourself as a dominate force by however means necessary. End the war for all I care. Our plans cannot move forward until you have secured powerful allies."

"Yes, Madara-sama."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

It was well before dawn.

"I am sending the three of you to the front lines," Hiruzen said gravely. A very somber atmosphere hung in the Hokage's office. All three of us were in our formal Chūnin attire, hitai-ates tied formly across our foreheads, and storage scrolls stuffed in our backpacks. Our backs were straight, and our gaze unwavering. Hiruzen eyed each of us, his expression unreadable. "I shall be honest with you. Our forces are stretched thin, and are exhausted enough to the point that we can no longer move on the offense. We are entirely defensive now with our current army while we try to recover.

"You three show great potential, and I have decided to reward you with a chance to earn your Jōnin promotions." Obito twitched at that. "Do you see this map?" We moved our heads to look over at the map of the Land of Fire. Hiruzen stood up from his desk and placed a finger on a norther border we shared with Kusagakure. "Kusagakure has been completely overtaken by Iwagakure. As if that wasn't bad enough, Iwagakure, with Kumogakure has moved into our land, destroyed our border forces, and taken over a significant portion of our forest. I am sending you three there with the main objective of ensuring they cannot advance further, and if possible, retrieve your fellow comrades' corpses."

"And if we can do more than that?" I inquired.

Hiruzen's cold eyes fell upon me. "Do it."

I placed my right hand over my heart and bowed. "We will not fail."

Hiruzen gave a curt nod and returned to his desk. I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, Kakashi and Obito right behind me. As soon as the door clicked shut behind us I said, "We are leaving now. I have a plan."

Obito chewed on his bottom lip. "I forgot my goggles—"

"Leave them. We have no time," I said, breaking into into a light run.

Kakashi moved to run beside me. "What's your plan?"

I gave him a feral smile, feeling my heart swell with excitement. Unconsciously, my hand drifted over my heart where I knew some of Madara's seals were placed. "Isn't it obvious, Kakashi?"

Obito caught up, running beside me.

"We're going to end the war."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I set our pace to as fast I could reasonably push Kakashi and Obito. I wasn't a hundred percent certain my actions would completely end the war, but I suspected I could knock out Kumogakure and Iwagakure long enough for Konohagakure to recuperate. Perhaps if all went well, I could even push for a enough of an offense to completely eradicate one of the players in the war.

While Sunagakure and Konohagakure had a shaky alliance, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure shared an even more precarious one. Kirigakure was Konohagakure's original ally at the start of the war before they changed sides. Then they became Kumogakure's ally before they double crossed _them_ and now they played to both sides, hiring out their shinobi and kunoichi to the highest bidder along with whatever secrets they could gather.

Kumo and Iwa had taken over a bit too much of Hashirama's forest than what was good for them. If they knew what was about to happen to them, well, I doubt they would set foot within a hundred kilometers near any sort of tree.

My plan was fairly straight-forward. It was simple enough that short of a miracle (by miracle, I mean by me dropping down at complete random) nothing would save Iwa and Kumo's forces. It would be a one sided massacre, really.

When it was said and done, I would take complete credit and assert myself as a monstrous force.

Even if that couldn't be further from the truth. It was the equivalent of a regular chakra-less human detonating a nuclear bomb. That human had absolutely no power, the power was all on the bomb's end, the human just pulled the trigger.

I was the trigger, and Madara's chakra was the bomb.

"The shelter should be around here," Kakashi muttered, his eyes constantly scanning the area.

"I think I see it," Obito said after another minute of hopping through the trees.

The two of us paused and adjusted our course to follow Obito as he leapt down to the forest floor. He gestured towards the base of one of Hashirama's outrageously large trees. It seemed a little odd from the rest, despite it looking perfectly normal.

"Genjutsu?" I inquired.

Obito nodded his head, the pinwheels in his eyes circling lazily. "There's a door. Think we should say the passcode?"

I frowned and released the genjutsu, finding that it was surprisingly harder than I would have thought. Indeed, there was a thick door at the base of the tree. I leaned forward and rapped my knuckles against the door in a very deliberate manner, tapping out one of the passcodes.

The door swung open and a very weary ANBU stood in its place. "... You are the backup?"  
"Yep! I'm Uchiha Obito, that's Hatake Kakashi, and the oni-hime herself, Senju Naasica."

"ANBU Tiger," the ANBU grunted, allowing us to enter.

We descended down into the shelter. It reeked of a musty tang. The underground shelter was made with a combination of concrete and wood. My arms stretched to touch both walls on either side of me as we descended. I could feel a subtle power in the wood, realizing that the shelter was likely made by my grandfather.

I knew Hashirama personally created a variety of safe houses across the nations, but that was the first tone I had personally encountered. Upon that realization I sent a pulse of my own chakra into Hashirama's creation. Hashirama's chakra reacted warmly against my own and I was immediately left with a very welcoming impression. Grandfather's chakra coiled around me in a hug and for a flash I felt—

— _a gentle hand rested atop my head-_

I snapped my hands back to my side, gasping.

Obito and Kakashi peered at me strangely, but I shook my head.

I had encountered Hashirama-made trees before, of course, but none of them retained his actual chakra like the shelter had. Was it because of how deliberate Hashirama created the safe house? Did he just pour more of himself in it in hopes of making it safer?

I paused.

Those questions were too open-ended. I could not find the answer in any foreseeable future, so it was a waste of time/energy to dwell.

To change my thought process, I focused on the other chakra signatures I picked up.

"Are there only three of you left?"

Tiger was quiet for a moment. "Yes. Flamingo is in critical condition and she can't be moved for another day, at least. Panther is with her now."

I froze. "Wait... You guys are the Alpha Strike Squad, aren't you? Panther is the mask reserved for the Alpha Strike Lt. Where is your captain? There should be thirty of you. Did you all...?"

"Yes," Tiger said quietly.

An eruption of rage rose up inside of me and I hastily bottled it. They would be avenged shortly. I had to remain calm. I had to remain calm. _I had to remain calm_.

Deep breath.

In.

Out.

In.

 _Out_.

Obito's face was pale at Tiger's words, and Kakashi bowed his head.

"May they find rest in the warmth of fire," I intoned softly. Then shaking my head, I said, "I am going to retake the forest. I will decimate their forces in one decisive blow. It will be up to you, Kakashi, and Obito, to clean up, as I will likely pass out from exertion."

"What?" the three of them echoed back in disbelief.

"You cannot possibly," Tiger began.

Obito rubbed his face. "Why am I not actually surprised."

Kakashi sighed. "How long will you be out?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "Tiger, can you tell me if most of their forces are inside the forest?"

The ANBU hesitated. "Well, yes, from my last scouting they had moved in to occupy our main border base."

"The main border base is made from Hashirama's wood, correct?"

"Yes, but it has extensive layers of protection—"

"That were likely destroyed in their assault on the base," I interrupted. "I'd like to finish this up as quick as I can. Please prepare yourselves for clean up duty. Oh, and Kakashi, Obito, be sure to chop off any heads that are not mangled beyond recognition. Store them in a preservative scroll, I have plans for them later. I should have about ten in my pack."

"You cannot _possibly_ be serious," Tiger repeated, absolutely incredulous. "They nearly wiped all of us out. How can you possibly stand a chance against that?"

"Because I cheat," I said simply before I walked out of the base.

_Now that I know where the shelter is, and that I have confirmation that none of our allies will be intermingled with their forces, I can just go straight ahead with the plan._

_Step one: begin._

As soon as I was outside the shelter I placed my hand onto the nearest Hashirama tree.

With the mokuton it was easy to take over natural trees, but even easier taking over mokuton created trees. I was grateful none of the trees reacted to my chakra like the shelter had, though. I didn't think I would have been able to focus properly if I kept feeling Grandfather—

It was a shame that when that process happened my mokuton tended to disfigure Hashirama's trees. Where my hand touched it, the wood would warp under my touch and after an hour of contact the leaves would burn an unnatural ember color. I felt Kakashi and Obito flank on either side of me.

"So are you going to immediately pass out and we should be prepared to catch you?" Obito asked.

"Probably. I've never done it on this scale before," I admitted. "It's going to strain my chakra pathways, and I haven't read any medical texts that cover what to do in regards to that."

"That's surprising because I have," Obito said, amazed. "I know something you don't?"

"Don't antagonize," Kakashi warned.

I giggled. "Well, you can't expect me to be all knowing, can you? I'm a princess, not a god."

"But you're evil incarnate, too!" Obito exclaimed, as if that explained everything.

That made me laugh.

"Is," Tiger began hesitantly, "I mean, are you sure you should be doing this, Senju-hime? I'm not exactly in top form, so I'm not confident I could protect all three of you—"

"I have absolutely no faith in you, Tiger-san," I responded dismissively. "My faith is placed in Kakashi and Obito. Your job is to rest up, and not get in our way."

The masked man stared at me for a moment before he shrugged and said, "Have it your way."

"I always do."

Returning my attention to Hashirama's trees I was inordinately pleased that each of them were connected to one another through roots. I couldn't _quite_ sense every last tree in the area infested with the enemies, but I knew I soon would.

I triggered one of Madara's seals and immediately felt a tidal wave of chakra sear through my meager system. It was like stuffing a raging river through a flimsy paper straw. My knees buckled under the sheer weight.

I did not have time to be overwhelmed. I had a mission, and I would succeeded.

Using Madara's chakra I connected each of Hashirama's trees.

To give a proportion: if the Land of Fire was the size of a dollar bill, then the infected area was the size of an American quarter.

 _Ah—ah it's starting to burn_.

Madara's chakra tore through me, ripping and stretching me in a very uncomfortable manner. Without Madara's pain, and chakra control conditioning, I highly doubted I would have been able to utilize his chakra with any degree of success: the pain was simply that intense.

As soon as I finished connecting each of the trees, along with each of the bases, I _flexed_ my chakra and ordered the trees to do one simple thing.

_Explode into millions of chakra-laced splinters and lacerate the opposing force._

I heard the thousands of explosions go off and grinned viciously in triumph.

Then I promptly passed out as the last bit of Madara's chakra scorched through me to complete the jutsu.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Every fiber of my body screamed in protest to being awake. I didn't quite realize how _uncomfortable_ it would be to have my chakra pathways be stretched to such a degree. I mean, certainly I understood there would be some obvious pain. Any muscle stretched to an extreme degree would feel the strain, but what I had felt was on a whole other level.

Frankly, I was very impressed with my pain tolerance that I had been able to accomplish my goal in spite of the pain.

My body quivered, and with great effort I forced myself to sit up.

I was in a makeshift infirmary and there was only one other person with me, a young woman who was clearly unconscious. Most of her body was covered in bandages that appeared like they needed to be changed soon. Her face was swollen and bruised to an extreme degree, enough so that I knew she would need reconstructive surgery to be able to utilize her mouth to any degree of success. She had obvious signs of torture on her right arm, and I didn't even want to think about what her thighs looked like underneath her baggy sweatpants.

 _Another victim of war_.

My head shook pityingly.

I rested my right hand on my hip and triggered the release of another seal. In the palm of my hand rested a small Zetsu spore. I channeled a minute amount of chakra into it and the clone soon formed.

"Hime?" Zetsu inquired.

"I'm going on the offense. Find me the nearest largest gathering of Kumogakure and Iwagakure shinobi. I am going to make sure they cannot retake the forest. Mark it on my map when you are done."

Zetsu nodded curtly before he disintegrated into the concrete ground.

I gripped my hands together to keep them from shaking. Small tremors rocked my body every other minute or so. My chakra pathways were not pleased with how I had pushed them, it seemed. Once the latest tremor subsided I got out of my cot and headed out of the shelter. I could not sense anyone else inside the shelter, and due to the anti-sensory seals placed around the shelter I could not sense anyone outside.

Fresh, crisp night air accosted me. Taking a moment to relish the clean air, I inhaled deeply. Nothing could bea tthe absolute deliciousness of the Land of FIre's forest. THe land's natural beauty was second to none and everything paled in comparison. Truly, that land spoiled me in its allure.

What a pity it would not stay that way.

Feeling pensive, I climbed the top of the tallest tree I could find.

I was stunned by what I saw. There was a _very_ small line of trees in front of the shelter before it gave away to a completely _decimated_ landscape. As far as the eye could see it was nothing but a sea of splinters.

_I knew Madara-sama was powerful, but... this is on a whole other level._

I was a small child in comparison to the overwhelming power Madara waved around.

_Power of a god._

I shook my head, clearing away my amazement. Knowing his power was vastly different than seeing it first hand and _comprehending_ it. For several moments my eyes could not be torn away from the sight, nor could I reign in my feelings of sheer awe.

My hands reached up and shakily slapped my cheeks. I did not have the time to gawk, there was work to be done.

I was certainly not a true sensor, but Madara had developed my skill adequately enough that I could track down my nearest teammate.

Kakashi looked tired, his left sleeve completely turned off and his arm was entirely wrapped in gauze. His flak was battered and singed, but otherwise than that he seemed okay. Tired eyes regarded me when I landed next to him on top a pile of splinters.

We stared at each other in silence before I whined, "You mean I didn't get all of them? Damn."

"You got all of them," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "Everyone was either dead, or dying. Some of them just took a bit longer to die than others."

I let out a woeful sigh. "I was hoping for a complete genocide."

"It was certainly a massacre," Kakashi said, patting me comfortingly on the shoulder. "How are you feeling? Obito said you were pretty exhausted."

"A little shaky," I admitted, as another trepidation made my body quiver, "but well enough I can continue on with the plan."

"Continue on?" Kakashi repeated, blinking at me in disbelief. "Continue with _what_? We complete decimated their forces here."

"If the enemy can still get back up after being kicked down, then clearly we have to kick them again," I said. "I'm going to do the same thing to their largest nearby force. We are going to completely secure this area, Kakashi. First, eliminate current hostiles. That's done. Second, eliminate oncoming hostiles. Third, rebuild. Fourth, repeat second step until they get the hint."

Kakashi seemed to be gaping at me. "Do you even have enough chakra to do that?"

"Of course," I huffed, clearly offended. "I'm a evil incarnate, remember? Evil is always ready."

"I have _never_ seen you use that much chakra, though," Kakashi said. "What you did, I mean, no offense, but what you did required some _monstrous_ chakra levels."

"Okay so I'm a monster demon princess who is evil incarnate."

Kakashi gave me a withering stare. "That is not what I meant."

"What? Do you somehow think that I was using someone else's chakra?" I asked curiously. "Who else could have massive chakra levels besides _the_ Hashirama's granddaughter, who _also_ wields the mokuton. Just because I don't whip it out during _spars_ doesn't mean I don't have it."

Kakashi hesitated. "I suppose so. I don't want you to drop dead from pushing yourself."

"I won't," I promised. "Trust me, Kakashi, I know what I'm doing."

Kakashi let out a quiet sigh. "I trust you with my life. You know I'll follow you."

I smiled at that. I reached over and took his hand (we both ignored how we blushed at that) and squeezed. "I won't lead you astray. Come on, let's get Obito and Tiger. We have work to do."

Kakashi nodded his head, withdrawing his hand and leading me to Obito.

Obito (who was as battered as Kakashi) and Tiger were thankfully together. When they saw us, Obito immediately scowled. "You should be resting!"

"No rest for the wicked," I purred. "How many heads did you collect?"

"Two hundred, maybe. They're still pretty mangled, though," Obito muttered. "What are these for?"

"A lesson. What did you do with the rest of the bodies?"

"What I could identify belonging to Konoha I stored away. The rest we have been burning," Tiger answered. "I must say I am very impressed with you, Senju-sama. This is... frankly if anyone had told me what had happened, I wouldn't have believed them. To think one so young has so much power..."

"Right. I'm very powerful," I lied. "Worship me, peasant."

Obito swatted at me. "Be nice. He's paying you a compliment."

"But he's not worshipping me yet. What's the point of being a princess if people don't worship you?" I criticized.

Tiger shook his head, chuckling. "Forgive me, _oh great one."_

"Much better."

Obito rubbed at his face while Kakashi sighed. "She's going to become insufferable at this rate."

Obito nodded his head. "We'll have to have Minato-sensei have another _spar_ with her."

I grimaced, knowing full and well that the Blond Devil could beat me around like a ragdoll. "I'll be good. I promise."

My teammates peered at me disbelieving.

"I can be good," I insisted.

Obito pointedly glanced around at the complete devastation, and at the maimed head Tiger was currently holding.

I coughed and pretended I didn't see what he was purposely viewing.

"So what's the next step in this plan?" Tiger asked.

"Where's your lieutenant?" I asked. "I didn't sense him in the shelter."

"He went further into our territory to try and find some herbs," Tiger explained. "Flamingo developed an infection a few hours ago and none of our standard treatments were working."

"Ah. Alright. I need to head back to the shelter to grab my map," I said, _hopefully Zetsu will have returned by then and have it marked_. "Then we're going to do the same thing we did here. If you guys need a break, deal with it. We have a short window of opportunity to continue the blitz. If they think that I can keep popping out this jutsu like throwing candy, they will be extremely less likely to try and enter the forest. After this attack we'll switch to defensive."

"Defensive? How? This forest is completely destroyed," Obito asked incredulously.

I gave him a blank stare. "I'm a mokuton user. I'll regrow the forest. Since it'll be _my_ trees I'll have a limited amount of sensing what comes in it."

_Complete bullshit. I can't sense anything through my trees unless I'm actively focusing on it. I'll just station some Zetsus around the perimeter._

"Oh," was all Obito said.

"Let's get this over with," Kakashi grunted.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The largest gathering was around two hundred shinobi and kunoichi, according to Zetsu's notes. It was a large force that had originally been preparing to break further into the Land of Fire, but it appeared they realized their initial force had been utterly destroyed because they were highly defensive.

I didn't dare approach them close enough to see them. I knew the land well enough that I did not need to see it in order to accurately send such a wide-scale ninjutsu to it.

"This one won't be as effective," I said. "I have to create the forest first before exploding it. They will have more time to react, even if only in seconds. I'll try to enclose them as much as I can and grow the trees within a meter of each other so no one can make a single massive shield to protect everyone. There _will_ be survivors, and these survivors may not be dying."

"We can handle it," Kakashi said firmly.

Obito grinned. "We got this, hime. You do your thing."

I nodded my head. "I think I'll be able to stay conscious this time, but I doubt I'll be of any help."

"If you do pass out I will have a clone escort you back to the shelter before returning," Tiger said.

"Appreciated," I said. "Try to let some of them survive and escape this time, though. I want them to be able to tell their story. Spread my name if you can."

"Want to be famous?" Obito joked.

"In part," I responded honestly. "For other reasons as well, though. I would really appreciate it if you guys did this for me."

"Alright, we'll drop your name," Kakashi said slowly, exchanging an unreadable gander with Obito.

I beamed. "Excellent! Alright, here we go!"

I clapped my hands together and then slammed the palms of my hands onto the ground. In the same instance I released one of Madara's seals.

_I wonder how many will survive this one?_

_I hope they suffer._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Fuck me," I cursed when I woke up.

I vaguely remembering completing the jutsu, but then I promptly vomited blood and passed out. How embarrassing!

Not to mention my entire body wouldn't stop shaking. My chakra coils were _exceedingly_ unhappy with me.

"I see you're awake," a gruff voice stated.

I sat up, ignoring the fact that my body protested heavily against doing so. A lean man with shiny black hair was sitting beside the woman on the cot. I recognized the mask. "You're Panther?"

"You're Konoha's Demon Princess?"

"Yes," I answered. "Where is everyone? How long was I out? Is Flamingo any better?"

"Cleaning away the debris in the forest," Panther said slowly. "The Uchiha said you would regrow it and Hatake's kid said it would likely be easier if all the splinters and bodies were gone. You were unconscious for thirteen hours. Flamingo is now stable."

I nodded, pleased by this. "I take it the three of them were able to clean up?"

"If by clean up you mean finish off the dozen or so survivors from your attack?" Panther asked dryly. "Then yes. It would appear that most of the shinobi and kunoichi there were already taxed and too tired to react quick enough when the trees grew. The ones that were, well, they couldn't escape quite unscathed."

Once more I was just stupefied by the sheer power of Madara.

_I should stop calling him Madara-sama and call him Madara-ue. That seems more fitting. He's apparently a god in man form._

"I don't suppose you know how soon I can be back up to working standards?" I asked, shakily gesturing to myself.

"You blew a tenketsu around your heart," Panther sighed, standing up and moving over to me. "I blocked it off for now, but you'll need surgery to repair it. I would advise doing anything strenuous on your coils for at least a week. The shaking won't go away for a few days at least, but it's not detrimental. Obviously I say you should stay in bed and rest, but I doubt you will. Take it easy and you'll be fine."

 _Okay no more seals for a bit_. _Growing trees isn't extensive, so I could probably grow a little bit of the forest every day._

"You're probably right," I agreed. "I'm going to find my teammates now."

Panther grabbed a couple crutches and laid them against my cot. "Use them. You'd probably fall if you tried to walk with how shaky you are."

I wished I could disagree with that, but I couldn't. Begrudgingly I took the crutches and headed out of the shelter. It took longer than what I would have liked to get to Kakashi and Obito. It wasn't that they were hard to find, (apparently by "cleaning up" the splinter sea I had made was translation for "burn everything into ashes") it just took a while to get there due to me not using any chakra.

I hobbled over to them as Kakashi spat out a low level suiton jutsu over a small fire. Most of the splinters were ashes, or smoldering embers. In the distance I saw Tiger sucking in large piles of ashes, and smoke, into some kind of scroll.

Obito was laying on his back, out of breath and I sat down beside him. "Fun time?"

"I am so tired," Obito whined. "I haven't slept in almost _three days_."

"You should probably get some sleep," I pointed out.

"We will," Kakashi muttered, then yawning. "We're almost done here, then we can head back to rest."

"How was the clean up duty?"

"Ridiculously easy," Obito mumbled. "What the hell are the heads for?"

"You'll see," I said. "Once you guys head to bed I will start regrowing the forest. Don't worry I won't push myself. We're stationed here for a month, anyway. Plenty of time to regrow the forest and rebuild the hideouts."

"I guess," Obito muttered, rubbing his face. "I feel like I'm going to pass out."

"Time for bed, then." I said, making shooing motions with one of my hands. "Before you go, hand me the scroll with the heads.

Obito rummaged his backpack before he tossed it to me, then wobbly stood up. I whistled over at Kakashi. "You should take this guy back to the shelter. You both need the rest, like, _yesterday_."

Both boys shot me tired glares but didn't argue.

I watched after them for a moment before I yawned. I turned my attention to Tiger, watching the ANBU finish cleaning up. It didn't take him long, whatever sealing scroll he was using was awfully well made, and extremely convenient. I briefly wondered what the sealing array was, but decided against asking about it. When he was done, Tiger approached me.

If I wasn't looking for it, I doubt I would have caught the minute tell-tale signs of exhaustion on the ANBU. He had likely been up far longer than any of us, but he continued to persevere. It was certainly impressive, and I admired him for it.

"Anything else you will be needing of us, hime?" Tiger inquired, only a very, _very_ small irregularity in his voice.

I shook my head. "No, I will start regrowing part of the forest, and then I will take up watch. I'm sure you need your rest, Tiger."

"Thank you," he said, his shoulders drooping. "Really... thank you."

I waved my hand dismissively. "Get going. Leave the rest to me."

"Of course."

Tiger flickered out of sight. With a quiet sigh, I stood up, and placed the crutches on the ground.

Meticulously, I pulled out mangled head, after mangled head from the scroll. I placed each one a meter or so away from another. The process took a while, since I was conserving my chakra for what was coming next. After a couple hours crawled by, I had finished placing about a hundred of the heads.

I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

I then slammed my hands into the ground.

The trees grew all around me, the twisted bark winding and curling at odd angles to intertwine with other trees. As the trees grew each tree lifted one of the heads up and grew around it. The result: faces in the trunks of the trees. Each face contorted, mangled, or horrifying in their own way. With the way the sunlight bounced off the ember leaves it beheld as if the trees were on fire.

In time the mangled faces would decay, and on the skulls would remain, and eventually even the skulls would crumple into dusk.

Despite that they were eternal.

The sight of this forest that I was going to grow would be seared into the eyes of every enemy who trespassed. They would see what we had done.

They would remember.

They would fear me.

Time would not erase that.

A smile curled my lips.

_This is only the beginning though._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

When I returned to the shelter Panther greeted me.

"I take it everyone is asleep?" I inquired.

Panther nodded shortly. "Correct. I will go ahead and—"

"Don't bother," I cut him off. "I have regrown a good portion of the forest and I can sense things through my trees. I will know if anyone enters this forest the moment they do, asleep or not. Go get some rest. We are safe now."

_Zetsu can be awfully convenient. Mixing in spores with the trees to add onto Madara's already extensive spy network... frankly I don't understand why Tobi did not originally utilize Zetsu's spore capabilities to the fullest._

Panther was silent for a moment before he nodded once more, a bit slower that time. "I see. I certainly can't afford to turn down such an enticing offer. I will leave it up to you then, hime."

I smiled. "Good. When does the Hokage expect a report?"

Panther shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet, his head cocked. "I imagine he will _require_ one in a few days. Given the enormity of what has transpired here though, I suspect he will want one sooner rather than later. I will be certain to write up a report to send before I sleep."

"Am I required to write one, as well?"

"Unlikely, as I am the technical leader of this operation," Panther answered tiredly.

"I am sorry for your promotion," I said softly, sincerely.

Panther did not respond for several minutes. I waited patiently for the war-torn man to gather his thoughts, remembering that he had essentially lost his leader, as well as most of his underlings not too long ago. Tragic, but unfortunately not uncommon from this war.

"She was a good woman," Panther finally said, "and Konoha will grieve for her, as it does for all its children. I am just grateful, just," Panther stopped again and took a shaky breath, "I am grateful that I will be able to tell hers, and all their families, that they were avenged. I know I have you to thank for that."

"It is not me you should be thanking," I said quietly, thinking of Madara. It was hard to belittle such a somber atmosphere with my usual narcissism. I felt, in that one tiny moment, that the fallen deserved at least a little bit of my respect. They were not brainwashed children sent off as fodder, but strong, capable individuals that _chose_ to sacrifice themselves for others. "I do not deserve the thanks until my mission is complete. I should not, not _ever_ , be thanked until... until we don't have to tell any more families such bad news. When that day comes, then you can thank me. But not before. It's premature... far too premature."

Panther eyed me for a long minute, his expression and thoughts unreadable behind his animal mask before he shook his head. "A tall order for one so young. How could you possibly achieve such a thing?"

"I cheat."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Zetsu's spores could not find any enemy chakra within kilometers of the forest. It seemed that the survivors had spread the word of the massacre and the enemy was rightfully cautious in approaching the forest once more.

More than likely, the enemy would only send a scout or two, if they could even spare them.

Even better, now that they understood that they could not even trust trees of our land, they would refrain from entering a forest in our land at all costs. Once enemies in other parts of our land caught wind of this, they would become paranoid and more prone to slipping up. Or they might even outright flee, misbelieving that I could find them anywhere within the forest.

The massacre was nothing but advantageous to me on so very many accounts.

Our makeshift team was able to sleep throughout the night without a fuss, and well into the morning. Panther was the first to be up about, followed by Tiger, then myself. Kakashi and Obito required a bit more rest. Not only were their bodies unaccustomed to this work like the ANBU, they did not have a combination of Uzumaki and Senju regeneration.

"Flamingo is improving, at last," Panther remarked, tossing Tiger several dead rabbits, and a couple fish.

Tiger caught each one and placed it on the counter of the shelter kitchen. It was a shabby kitchen, with a very small fire stove and a storage scroll above it that would suck in smoke. The storage scroll had to be emptied about once a week from regular use, and it was usually best to just send it to Konoha to be done there, and request a new one since it would be a _huge_ risk to have _that_ much smoke released in a warzone.

"Quite a catch," Tiger murmured, admiring the fresh kill. "I suppose with Flamingo improving we'll need to acquire as much food as we can. She'll need the energy."

"That," Panther agreed, "and because I thought a little celebration was in order."

Tiger chuckled mirthlessly. "I guess it's a good thing Toad left behind his pack. I'm sure I could find some spices in them."

I could practically see the waves of grief roll off Tiger as he said that. It made me uncomfortable, so I decided to change the direction of the conversation into something more productive. "I take it that we'll have to rebuild a main base here, as well as some watch towers."

"Yes," Panther said. "The Hokage will not be able to send reinforcements, especially since we do not immediately need them."

"Thankfully you have me to supply the wood," I told them. "I also brought some fūinjutsu supplies, and I am quite certain that Kushina nee-chan could send us some more."

Panther sat down beside me at the dining table, pulling out a well-worn notebook. He pulled off his ANBU glove, bit down on his thumb and drew an odd symbol on top of it. There was a puff of smoke, and the notebook opened up, revealing some very small scrawlings. "You have training in fūinjutsu?"

"Yes. I am high B rank."

Panther seemed to smile behind his mask. "Good, you'll be able to assist me in creating the security seals. Some of them are above B rank, but you are competent enough that I am sure you will get along."

"I'm sure I will."

"We'll have Tiger and your teammates rebuild the actual buildings, while you and I work on the sealings arrays. Prepare yourself, little hime, because this is where it gets tedious."

"I'm sure I'll think of some way to liven it up," I purred.

Panther tilted his head. "I don't think cheating is advised when dealing with fūinjutsu."

I giggled. "Only for peasants perhaps, but, I _am_ the Demon Princess of Konoha."

"So I have learned."


	18. Monsters

**And maybe it's a dream; maybe nothing else is real?**

**But, it wouldn't mean a thing if I told you how I feel.**

**-Lizz**

_Everyone is gone._

_Everyone will always leave._

_I will forever and ever be alone._

_. . ._

_. ._

_._

In this world wherever alcohol was served in, or near a hidden village, business would always be consistent. No matter the hour; lively talk, and gentle jesting would fill the atmosphere.

Three days ago that had changed.

For the first time in a long while a thick, uncomfortable, borderline-painful, tension ran through those establishments. There was no merry talk. There was no laughter. There was no jesting. A somber silence broken only by men and woman drowning themselves in alcohol, or whispering fearfully to one another, filled the bars.

At one such place, a blonde woman sat. Her dull eyes stared listlessly at her cup of sake.

"Did you hear the news?"

"You mean about the massacre?"

"God, what a fucking monster."

"The last real Senju... I can't believe what she did. Is it really as bad as they say?"

The woman at the bar clenched her drink, her attention now focused on the terse gossip around her.

"Yeah. It was a complete massacre... she really created the Yomi Pillars. That monster... Oni Kodama."

"My God."

"We have to travel through the woods tomorrow."

"Fuck."

"How old is she?"

"The bingo book says she's twelve."

"She's the youngest in history to have a universal Flee on Sight."

"Fuck," they echoed once more.

"I hope to God someone takes her out before she hits her prime. Can you imagine?"

The woman's heart stopped for a brief moment.

"I don't even want to think about that."

"She already has a huge bounty on her head for being a mokuton user. How much you think Iwagakure and Kumogakure gonna be willing to pay for her head?"

The woman's drink shattered in her hands.

The silence returned.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"How long am I going to have to use these stupid things?" I grumbled indignantly while shooting venomous glares at my crutches.

"Until you stop shaking," Panther answered, completely dismissive of my ire.

I stuck my tongue out petulantly at the unperturbed man, frustration at my physical limits bubbling inside of me. Almost a week after I had effectively beaten the enemy out of our lands, and I was _still_ shaking. Granted, it didn't help that I had continued to ignore Panther's orders for strictly bed rest and repeatedly snuck out to keep regrowing the forest I had decimated through Madara's power.

"Well, if you hadn't insisted on growing that grotesque forest of yours you might have been off the crutches by now," Panther put in mildly.

"I had to finish it while people were still in awe of my sheer evilness," I insisted. "Otherwise, it wouldn't have had the maximum amount of impact."

"Heaven forbid people weren't terrified of you by the _maximum_ degree."

"Exactly," I said, nodding my head. "You understand."

Panther looked up at the ceiling. "God, why do you create monsters that look like cute little girls? Why can't cute little girls only be cute little girls?'

I giggled. "I _am_ pretty cute, but I'm no longer a little girl. I am clearly a young woman by now."

"Is that right."

"I think after slaughtering hundreds without mercy in the span of an afternoon (essentially) I've earned the right to be called a young woman," I pointed out, perfectly reasonably.

Panther leaned over to me and pinched my right cheek. "You still have baby fat on your cheeks."

I gasped, instantly offended. "I do _not_!"

He pinched my other cheek. "Yeah. That is _definitely_ baby fat, ergo: little girl."

I whined. "But I want to be an evil mastermind of overlord-y-ness."

"You can still be an evil mastermind of overlord-y-ness," Panther responded patiently. "You'll be a cute little girl who is also an evil mastermind of overlord-y-ness."

I whined again as Obito entered the room. My teammate gave me an odd look. "Are you in one of your strange moods again?"  
At even the vaguest hint of puberty (the word moody) I was instantly filled with a roaring hot river of hatred and I snarled at Obito, "Come closer and say that again, _little boy_."

Obito yelped, his face pale, and he turned on his heel and fled the room.

Panther shook his head pityingly at where Obito once was before he commented, "You're almost as bad as Kushina was."

I hissed. "I suggest you stop talking right now before you find your eyes ripped out of your head and shoved up your urethra."

"Why am I under the vague impression that you actually know how to do that?" Panther mused.

"I will end you, old man."

"You can certainly try, _moody little girl_."

With a roar I lurched myself at the veteran ANBU with every intent of following up on my threat.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Enjoy another week with your crutches," Panther purred as he dropped me back off in the hospital bed.

"I hope your dick _literally_ rots off."

"I'm sure you do."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"This is so boring," I complained as Kakashi carried me through the forest to where our team was rebuilding the main base.

"Stop wasting your chakra so you can get better, then," Kakashi retorted, completely unsympathetic to my plight.

I had finally finished replacing the lost part of the Land of Fire's forest, and so I was _finally_ able to properly rest, but I found doing so was dreadfully boring. I couldn't even expend chakra to help out with the fuinjutsu and security of the new base. I was basically dead weight at that point (not that I felt the least bit guilty about that. I _did_ save their sorry asses and probably won us the war. They had to do _some_ work).

The Hokage had ordered us to remain until relief could be provided. He mentioned that he was anxious for me to return to Konohagakure for a verbal debriefing, but he wasn't going to needlessly call me back. I had given Konoha a huge advantage to the war and he would be a damned fool to waste it. The enemy _had_ to be terrified of me (at the very least the average shinobi - perhaps ANBU would be an exception; but, it wasn't like I had a way to physically confirm any of that. It was a guestimate based on basic human psychology and personal experience working as a kunoichi), and of entering the forest . Their fear would be quite problematic for the leaders to deal with, and the leaders were likely already scrambling to make up for such a devastating defeat I had delivered to them.

I was quite excited to see what the latest Bingo Book would have in store for me (I _must_ have made it, right?).

I rested my head on top of Kakashi's head, sighing contently into his soft hair while I daydreamed about the possible moniker I would be given.

Kakashi adjusted his grip on me (I was riding him piggyback) and paused in his leaps between the trees. "Are you falling asleep again?"

"No," I said instantly. "Just daydreaming about my amazing title."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Kakashi warned. "People aren't very imaginative." He paused. "People don't have _your_ imagination."

"You mean people don't normally dream about impaling thousands of humans to slowly drain their blood in order to paint white roses red?" I asked innocently.

"Oh is _that_ what you were dreaming about? Forget what I said. _Everyone_ has that dream," Kakashi deadpanned.

"I'm so glad."

"I remember when you used to be shy," Kakashi sighed. "Whatever happened to that sweet little-"

My arms tightened around his throat and I purred, "You weren't about to call me a _little girl_ , were you?"  
" _Hurrk_."

I relaxed my grip and Kakashi turned his head in order to glare at me. "Stop being so sensitive."

" _Hmph_. Shut up and keep carrying me, peasant."

My childhood friend shook his head in exasperation before we continued our short trip to the new base.

We were nearly done with its reconstruction. The priority was establishing all of the security seals which Panther and Tiger accomplished within the first seventy hours of construction (and I helped with, like, _two_ before Panther scolded me for lying about how sensitive my tenketsus were). Obito and Kakashi were left for the carpentry portion. Using the wood I had set aside and an abundance of clones, my teammates rapidly set up watch points around the base. On the fourth day of construction Flamingo had become coherent enough to assist, although she still required frequent breaks.

I was impressed by her ability to remain professional despite being obviously traumatized. There were moments where I caught the young woman completely unawares, and she would startle easily. I suspected that when we all returned to Konoha she would be checked in for at least a month with the Yamanaka Rehabilitation. In spite of everything, though, the woman was adamant and proved incredibly helpful in reconstruction (she was a doton user and she reconstructed the main tunnels and assisted Tiger in applying the chakra-infused cement). Without her, I was confident that reconstruction would not have been progressing as quickly.

With the bare bones of the base essentially finished the only thing left was stock.

Most of the items would be sent over to the new base with the relief team, but some required careful foraging (medicinal herbs, for example).

Kakashi landed softly on the ground; I appreciated how he evenly distributed the weight of the land as not to disturb my tired body.

He lowered himself and I slid off him and shakily stood on my own two feet. Kakashi straightened his back and watched me tremble for several seconds. "You sure you don't need your crutches?"

"My armpits ache worse than my throat did after I got it cut open," I told him. "I am _not_ using them."

My knees chose that moment to lose all strength and buckle.

Kakashi reflexively caught me before I fell to the floor. He slid his right arm around my waist and slung my own left arm over his shoulder. I blushed at the physical contact ( _ahhhhh! Stop it!_ ), and steadily ignored my rapidly increasing heartbeat. Kakashi raised a single eyebrow. "You want me to carry you?"

With all the dignity my shaking body allowed me to muster I sniffed, "If you wish, but I demand to be carried like the princess I am."

My childhood friend chuckled, warm amusement entering his tired eyes. I cursed my hormones further, and hurried to suppress them. Kakashi swung me into his arms, carrying me bridal style into the new base.

Upon entering the front room Flamingo greeted us. "Good morning, comrades. Hime, are you feeling better?"  
"Loads," I lied.

"She still can't walk," Kakashi bluntly answered.

I glared at him. "Traitor."

Flamingo laughed quietly. "There is no shame in relying on your comrades, hime. You have done much for us, and now you must rest that precious body of yours."

"Heaven forbid anything happen to Konoha's mokuton user," I grumbled.

"That, too," Flamingo agreed. "But much more than that, you and your teammates are our future. _We_ fight to protect _you_ , just as _you_ fight to protect the next generation."

"The Will of Fire."

"The Will of Fire," Flamingo murmured.

A thoughtful silence settled between us before Flamingo clapped her hands together and said, "Take her to Panther and then you may join your other teammate with Tiger in infrastructure."

"Okay," Kakashi stated, carrying me towards the old bastard. "Are you going to behave for Panther, or is he going to have to knock you out again?"

I protested, "It's his fault! He's the one baiting me."

"You're the one giving in," Kakashi pointed out. "I don't care if you're bored out of your mind; you need to rest, not look for fights."

"But I love violence."

"I know," he soothed me, "and after you're all better we'll find some nice enemy nin for you to play with."

I beamed and kissed his cheek. "You know me so well."

We both ignored the fact that Kakashi's face turned a _little_ red.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"I thought we were almost done with this base," I commented. I was leaning against a wooden wall in a large empty room three levels down in the base, clenching and relaxing my hands. My legs were stretched out in front of me, and I was immensely pleased that the tremors came _significantly_ less frequently than they had any other day. Panther sat on the opposite side of the room at a makeshift table, drawing explosive tags.

The room was decently sized, but almost entirely barren, hence why we sat on the floor.

"Technically we have done what we need," Panther answered, "but we have time until our relief comes here and we have more than enough supplies to continue construction. This base was originally planned for renovation before the war hit, might as well do what we can now."

"Renovation for what? Seems plenty big for me."

"It didn't have enough holding cells," Panther responded, pausing in his seal drawing. "The Land of Fire has always had difficulties with missing-nin, bounty hunters, or bandits crossing into our borders. Typically we would kill them and move on, but recent history tells us that enemy villages will hide a high level nin amongst low-level bandits to surprise an unsuspecting Genin team. Some villages will even 'hire' out such expendable people in order to test our border patrols. With more holding cells we have the option of taking more alive for interrogation, and possibly rehabilitation into our own network."

"Basically we didn't have enough torture cells."

"Basically we did not have enough torture cells," Panther agreed.

I frowned at how my right leg jerked on its own. "I love violence as much as anyone, but is physical torture really that effective?"

Panther chuckled mirthlessly. "No. Physical torture is rarely used for garnering information. People tend to say anything in order to make the pain stop. It's why the information is typically left for our spies, or Interrogation Specialists. We use torture for reconditioning, usually."

That was new information. Konoha didn't typically advertise what it did with torture. Hell, talking about torture anywhere outside the battlefield was heavily frowned upon, so it wasn't like I could ask about it.

"Reconditioning for what? I wasn't aware that I worked with previous enemy nin."

"Reconditioning so they are docile for our scientists. We can't make medical advancement, test new ninjutsus, genjutsus, or even fūinjutsus without live subjects. However, most of our researchers are not shinobi or kunoichi themselves so any subjects we bring to them have to be compliant."

Grotesque.

"Practical," I responded.

"Mn."

"So you said reconditioning was what we used torture for _usually_. Do we officially use it for anything else?"

"Aside from emergency information extraction?" Panther inquired, a slight hesitation in his brush strokes. "Officially, no. Unofficially, yes. I'm sure you've seen your fair share of ravished bodies."

My mind immediately reflected upon the worst I had seen during the war. The results of monsters. "Yes."

"Some shinobi, and kunoichi, prefer torture as a means of vengeance," Panther murmured quietly. "By performing brutal acts on who they believe are close to their enemies, or may in any way affect their enemies, they feel like they have regained some semblance of control. Or they are naturally sadistic and genuinely enjoy hurting others, competing with those around them to see who can be the nastiest. As much as our reputation holds us as the _friendliest_ of all the villages, our forces are not immune to such acts. We certainly have our fair share of monsters in the ranks."

My lips pursed, and my left hand drifted up to idly play with the curls in my hair. The term monster made me reflect on my first _real_ encounter with one. I wondered, then, if perhaps the others viewed me in the same light. "Like me?"

"I wouldn't call you a monster," Panther said gently. His words, for some reason, made me feel at ease. "All you have known is war, and as consequence all your actions and beliefs are tied to that. No one could reasonably expect you to be any different, when you have never been given the chance to act different."

"Then what's a monster to you?"

"A beast who craves war during peace."

"What about someone who starts a war for peace?"  
"He would be a stupid monster, then."

I mirthlessly chuckled.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

An odd kind of silence fell upon us for a while after that, neither uncomfortable nor companionable. My mind flickered back and forth between a variety of unpleasant memories. Each corpse I had come across in the war was burned in my mind. For the most part I distanced myself from what I saw-detached myself like Madara taught me to do-but it was difficult on some days.

Some days, no matter how hard I tried to repress, or remain apathetic, I simply could not.

One of such days, was the day I came to face to face with my first _monster_.

I remembered finding a string of young boys, no older than Obito, bound and naked. I had been alone when I found them, scouting for Madara one night. I was meant to kill a man and steal a valuable fūinjutsu scroll Madara wanted.

The target had created a bunker in the middle of nowhere to hide out.

I did not realize it was because he was a monster.

If I knew what I was getting into, that night, I would have prepared more.

I had gone into his eerie bunker, expecting a titular battle.

Unfortunately that had not been the case.

Instead, I found my target in a vulnerable position with one of those poor boys.

My rage was too swift and powerful to control at that moment. I snapped his knees and elbows immediately after paralyzingly him with a jab to his spine.

I did not end his life right away.

I patched up the traumatized child as best I could, my hands quivering all the while and my stomach churning. His own knees had been disfigured to the point where he would likely never be able to walk again, and one of his eyes hung loosely down his cheek. In spite of the horror he had gone through, and the pain he was in, he was adamant I rescued the others before I finished tending to him.

I tried to.

It seemed when my target had had his way with them he would castrate them via glass tubes, and leave them to either starve to death, die of blood loss, or pass away due to infection.

He had kidnapped no less than twenty six boys.

Thirteen were already dead when I arrived.

Five ate their nearby corpses, and had become too deranged to be allowed back into society.

Three passed away soon afterward my arrival due to severe exhaustion, blood loss, and infection, and my own lack of first aid skills.

Two begged me to kill them.

One was catatonic.

And the last one had yet to face the torturer.

I was in disbelief.

I was in anger.

I was in despair.

I was...

 _Twenty six missing boys._ And not one person searched for them

 _Why?_ I had asked Madara.

 _War,_ he had answered.

Each of those boys disappeared around battlefields and marked as dead. No one believed civilian children would survive being caught in between two warring shinobi sides. No one thought it was worth risking their own lives to search for their bodies. _If they survived, they would have come home,_ people would say.

 _Monsters thrive on war,_ Madara told me. _No one suspects them. They take what they see at face value and_ never _look underneath._

_Does that mean they are more like this scum?_

_Many more._

Out of those twenty six boys, I could only save three.

It was one of the single worst memories of my life, and one of the most important. I had taken that monster back to my master, and I had begged Madara to show me the ways to _**hurt**_ men.

I could not bring those boys back to life, nor could I undo the horror they had faced.

But I could bring them vengeance.

I could be their fangs, and claws when no one else would.

After all, it was these boys, these children, those wives, husbands, fathers, daughters, sons, mothers-they were my motivation. They were the reason I would be that foolish monster who would start a war for peace.

The world we lived in was unacceptable.

For their sake, no matter what, I would create a utopia.

My eyes drifted closed.

_I will be the last monster standing in this world._

_At. Any. Cost._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

There was pressure in my lap, and on the top of my head.

My neck and back ached as I slowly came back to the waking world. I instantly cursed myself upon realizing that I had fallen asleep while Panther was working on the explosive seals. Being relatively alone and left to my thoughts made it undesirable to stay in the waking world.

Not that what I dreamed about had been all that pleasant, either. Thinking about what happened to those boys made me dream about all of the horrors I had seen throughout the war, and every monster I encountered then after. I had Zetsu scout out for all individuals who went missing (and declared dead) around large battlegrounds. For the most part they had indeed perished from being caught in the crossfire, and their bodies only had to be returned to their families; but, every now and then Zetsu would find another monster.

When he did, I hunted that night.

I received plenty of practice in the ways of making men and women scream and writhe underneath me.

Even when they would beg and _beg_ for death, my hatred would not abate enough until the last drop of sanity left their eyes; when they could no longer understand how much pain they were in.

I saved lives.

But only handfuls.

I avenged hundreds more.

 _Why bother at this point?_ Madara asked me once, genuine curiosity in his voice. _All of these horrors will be corrected once we accomplish our goal._

 _I don't know,_ I had answered.

He did not ask me to stop, nor discourage me from my hunts. He understood, even when I did not. Madara would always understand me.

My fingers twitched, and I blinked away the last of the remnant of memories I dreamed about. My gaze swung down into my lap where I found a passed out Obito, his entire form utterly at ease. I realized, then, that Obito was not the only one who had taken a nap with me, and I turned my head to the right to find that I had been resting on Kakashi's shoulder, and he had been resting on my head. When I had moved my head, Kakashi's head dropped down to my shoulder, a muffled snore escaping him.

We each had a blanket around us.

I glanced around the room, my eyes settling on Tiger, who was laying on his stomach, legs up in the air, while reading from a scroll. His golden brown hair gleamed in the candlelight (the only light source in the room) and when he noticed me, he lifted his head up to show me his heavily cracked ANBU mask.

He signed, _Awake?_

 _Yes,_ I responded. _TIme?_

_You - ten hours. Silver - seven hours. Black - six hours._

A quiet sigh came from me. _No wonder I'm so stiff._

Tiger seemed to sense my mild irritation because his shoulders shook with repressed laughter. I awarded him the finger, which only made his shoulders quake harder.

"Mn?" Kakashi stirred to my right, moving his head and tickling me with his hair. I held my breath to fight back a sneeze, my body tensing. "Naa...?"

My left hand reached over, and I gently placed my index finger on his lips before quietly motioning towards the sleeping Obito.

Kakashi looked down at the peaceful Uchiha before his right hand reached over and pinched Obito's nostrils close.

Obito let out a strangled gasp, his eyes shooting open as he spasmed out of my lap. " _What the hell?!_ "

Kakashi smirked at him. "You were asleep."

"So were you!" Obito snapped. "I didn't wake you up, why did you wake me up?"

Tiger laughed loudly. "It's probably for the best. The relief should be arriving here in a couple of hours."

"I was having such a nice dream, too," Obito whined. "Oni-hime was actually a nice person!"

"I can be nice," I defended. "I let you sleep in my lap, didn't I? Kakashi was the one who woke you. I was going to let you sleep as long as you wanted."  
Obito pursed his lips, a thoughtful expression on his face. "That's true. Nice cute girls always let the hero sleep in their lap after a long day."

"Hero?" Kakashi asked dubiously.

"I am pretty cute," I agreed. "Thank you for noticing."

Obito grinned cheerfully. "You can count on me, hime! I always notice cute girls."

"I guess every team has a pervert," Kakashi muttered.

Obito squawked with indignation while TIger nodded his head. "Yeah. I was the pervert on my team, believe it or not."

"I believe it," Kakashi assured him.

"I am _not_ the pervert! I haven't even gone on a date before!"  
"I'm not surprised," Kakashi said.

" _You haven't, either!_ "

"By choice, though," he said, another smirk on his face. "You haven't gone on a date because no one would go out with you."

Obito's face turned a bright red, and I knew that the pissing contest was about to start up again.

"I have to go pee," I gracefully interrupted. "Someone carry me outside, please and thank you."

"Allow me, hime," Tiger snickered.

"I was hoping to prevent a pissing contest by having one of my teammates help me."

"I know. But I'm bored, and there's nothing quite like watching two adolescents try to kill each other."

"You're one of _those_ perverts, aren't you."

Tiger flickered over to me, and shushined us out of the base. He rapped the top of my head, and sweetly said, "I've missed six months of my soaps. You take this away from me and you'll be keeping those crutches for six months."

"I hope all your favorite characters die," I snapped grumpily.

" _Savage_."

 **(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIller chapters are nice for character development. I've wanted to write about one of Naasica's self-appointed vengeance missions for a while, but I kept getting side-tracked, and then I realized that if I did that mission I would likely be writing out a torture scene and I dunno if I want to do that or not.
> 
>  **Answer:** *Sheepishly mutters* Amnesia...
> 
>  **Question:** Most surprising plot twist? If you don't want to spoil it, then give me the name of the book / anime / game / etc.
> 
> Reviews are **love**!
> 
> Finals time for me and the beta, I believe, so edits are gonna be slow. If you see any big issues, let me know!
> 
> Oni Kodama means Tree Spirit Demon / Demon of the Trees / Demonic Spirit of the Trees (depending on how the kanji is spelled).


	19. Kanabi Bridge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beautiful art was done by Arneewenn on deviantART.

_**So I'm tired of all the pain, of the misery inside -** _

_**and I wish that I could live, feeling nothing, but the night.** _

_**You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go -** _

_**but, I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know.** _

_**Bad Apple** _

_I watched him squirm, round little cheeks red._

_He was too tiny. Too fragile._

_Kaa-san smiled._

_She was too tiny, now. Too fragile._

_He cried, and she stopped breathing._

_Tou-sama ushered us out, and Iyaozo-niichan carried our newborn brother outside with us. We each took turns holding him, as we waiting for Father to return._

_Izuna held him for a long time, before he gave him to me._

_I held him in my arms for the first and last time._

_I instantly loved him._

_But he was too tiny._

_He did not last long._

_._

_. ._

_. . ._

My head rested in Obito's lap as my teammate idly played with my hair. I had found that I quite enjoyed having my hair played with. The relief team was supposed to arrive at any minute, so we had packed all our things in preparation for the journey back to Konoha. I was inordinately pleased that I would be saying goodbye to my crutches. Given my condition, I would be carried back into Konoha before being taken straight into surgery to fix the blown tenketsu around my heart. It was agreed that the oral report would be given for my entire team after surgery, but the ANBU would likely provide their own report.

Kakashi cleaned his kunai, sitting beside Obito with his back against the wall. He only paused in his work to look up at Flamingo entering the front room of the base. The woman brushed back her long pale blonde hair, and seemed to be smiling at each of us. "Panther has sensed the approaching squad. Let us head out to meet them, children."

Our faces contorted in perfect synch at the word children, but we each obediently got up and made sure our things were packed.

Obito and Kakashi placed one arm each around my waist, and I draped my arms over their shoulders. With ease, the three of us followed Flamingo outside of the base, where Panther and Tiger stood, waiting for us.

Panther did not bother looking towards us, while Tiger gave us a jovial wave. Two minutes ticked by in utter silence before we were surrounded by an entire squad of ANBU—at least twenty of them—and another squad of Jōnin/Chūnin.

I was utterly surprised by the amount of forces Hiruzen had sent. Prior to our mission, Konoha forces were stretched to the point that the three of us were all he could spare to send out to position that desperately needed reinforcement.

Had my single move provided with so much immediate relief that Hiruzen was able to do all of _that_?

In the same time I processed the amount of forces Hiruzen had sent, three ANBU appeared around us. Kakashi and Obito instinctively tensed, but I remained at ease. I recognized one of the masks as ANBU Rabbit. She had been one of the ANBU on call to care for Grandmother. Her short white hair glistened underneath the moonlight, and she reached out towards me. "Allow me to care for hime-sama."

Kakashi and Obito withdrew their arms as I reached out towards Rabbit. With ease the tall woman picked me up and adjusted to carry me bridal style. "It's been a while."

"It has," Rabbit agreed. "I will escort you straight to the hospital with your teammates. Obito-kun, Kakashi-kun, do either of you require assistance?"

"No," they both denied quickly.

Rabbit nodded her head, then glanced at her comrades. "Let us move. We must reach Konoha by sunrise."

There was a subtle shift in the atmosphere, and at once, most of the ANBU departed together. Only Flamingo and I were carried to Konoha, though.

True to her word, as soon as Rabbit reached the Konoha, she split off from the others and took me straight to the main hospital. She entered through the front door, and I was greeted by an array of doctors and nurses, each anxious to escort me to the surgery room.

Kushina was there, too, with a bright smile on her face and promises of making me dango as a reward.

All too happily, I closed my eyes on the gurney, anxious to be returned to my full strength.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

After the surgery, I was kept in an isolated ward. I had an hour before we were scheduled to meet with the Hokage. In that hour, I had a single task to accomplish.

Something of which I could not do confined to a hospital bed, so I broke out and went on my merry little way.

In the Shinobi District (the district where only shinobi and kunoichi and their immediate family were allowed to live) there were a few buildings that were well known for their ridiculously high security. It was also well known that those buildings housed ANBU, elite Jōnin, and retired shinobi/kunoichi. If one was looking for ANBU off duty, the best bet was to head to one of those apartments and ask around.

Now, of course ANBU were _meant_ to be secretive and people shouldn't be able to find their identity willy-nilly.

When someone joined the ANBU they had the option of either keeping their identity entirely secret, or embracing the ANBU entirely.

If they chose to keep their ANBU identity a secret, then they would remain in their day-to-day lives and had to balance their ANBU missions with their regular missions. That option was the ideal option for those who were training their own Genin team, had a family, or were integral to part of their clan.

The second option involved being officially declared ANBU. Their file would be marked as SS, and they would essentially disappear from the ranks of Jōnin, Chūnin, or wherever the hell they were from. Their comrades would know they were ANBU, even if they did not know their mask, and they would receive special accommodations. Those accommodations included an offer to live with their fellow elite in one of those special buildings, the ability to not have to pay rent when sent on particularly long missions, and of course access to the ANBU elite library, training grounds, and research center. The catch, however, meant they had to cut the majority of their ties with their fellow comrades and their missions were entirely dedicated to S-Ranked and above.

Both options had their ups and downs.

Returning to the point, however.

The majority of ANBU chose the latter of the options. As a consequence, if one were to look for a specific ANBU off duty, all one had to do was head to one of those special apartments and ask around.

Which was exactly what I planned to do.

I stood outside the first of the apartment buildings, frowning at how I was unable to enter due to the fact that my chakra was not keyed into the seals.

A tremor rocked my body for a minute, which made stumble.

I technically was not supposed to be out of my bed, but the sooner I had this taken care of, the better.

"Senju-hime, is there something I can do for you?"

I turned around, meeting the gaze of a woman with pale blue spiky hair, and vivid red eyes. From her Jōnin attire, I gathered that she was likely a resident of one of the nearby apartments.

"Perhaps," I said slowly. "I'm looking for ANBU Tiger, although he might have been promoted to ANBU Panther recently. We were comrades in arms not too long ago, and it is imperative that I speak with him soon."

She smiled at me. "I know who you are talking about. I'll take you to his apartment, if you'll allow me to assist you, hime."

My lips stretched into a charming smile, even as the (likely ANBU) kunoichi held her arm out to me. She probably knew about my surgery, and saw my tremor earlier. Since I chose not to use crutches, it would be difficult to travel further on my own. I overestimated myself a _tiny_ bit.

Snaking my arm through her's, I allowed her to guide me into the nearby apartment. When presented with the stairs, she merely glanced at me before picking me up bridal style and carrying me up them.

My ego wanted to protest, but the inner Madara inside of me snarked at it, so I remained silent.

She took me up to the tenth floor, through more secured doors, before dropping me off at apartment 10C.

I knocked on the door when she left, and a full minute passed by before it opened.

An undressed Tiger with a towel wrapped around his waist greeted me—

My eyes were glued to his well toned adult body.

Tiger smirked coyly at me. "Like what you see, hime?"

"No," I lied, entirely unabashed. He was an adult. It was okay to admire his physique. "I need to speak with you. May I come in?"

Tiger stepped aside to allow me inside, and I strode through the front door. I assessed the neat apartment with a sharp gaze, noting the abundance of cat toys. It didn't take long to find a large cat feeder in the kitchen, an even bigger automatic watering bowl, and three fat cats lounging in a sun beam by the open window.

Tiger brushed passed me, into his open kitchen and opened the fridge. "Want anything to drink?"

"No, thank you," I answered him, taking a seat on the pale brown couch. "I shouldn't stay long. The hospital will figure out that I've gone AWOL soon enough, and I'm quite certain they will send Nee-chan after me again."

Tiger grabbed a bottle of water for himself, scratching at his golden-brown messy hair. "Huh. It's been awhile since I've seen an angry Kushina. Might be fun."

"For you," I retorted. "That anger will be directed at me, and I can assure it: that's not fun at all."

Tiger shrugged. "Let me throw some pants on first, and then we'll talk."

"If you must."

"Come back when you're a bit older and then we'll talk," Tiger laughed, heading out of the front room.

I snorted at that. Thirty seconds went by before he returned in some black sweats, and a yellow t-shirt with pictures of cats on it. He took a seat from the lounger across from the couch, and immediately two cats leapt into his lap.

As he idly pet them, he asked me, "So how can I help the mighty Oni Kodama?"

"The what?" I blinked.

A grin that could rival Cheshire's stretched across Tiger's face. "You mean you haven't seen the latest bingo book?"

"I _just_ finished my heart surgery an hour ago," I crankily snapped. "What are you talking about?"

Tiger reached over to the coffee table in between us and picked up a clean leather bound bingo book. He tossed it to me. "Flip to page two-ninety-one."

I flipped through the book, then gasped upon seeing my picture (the picture of me taken from graduating the academy—so _quite_ some time ago). Right below my picture was a—

"I have a _Flee on Sight_?" I squealed, unable to contain my happy giggle. "Oh. _My_. This is amazing! Oni Kodama is my moniker? Not bad at all! This is—this is fantastic."

"I'm glad I was able to make your day," Tiger chortled.

I grinned wickedly at him. "Not quite, Tiger. The whole reason I came here wasn't for a bingo book. I want you to nominate Kakashi and Obito for Jōnin. I want you to talk to Panther and Flamingo, and see if you can get them to do the same."

Tiger cocked his head. "Hm. They did entertain me with their pissing contest, and I suppose they showed _some_ level of competency. Sure, why not? You owe me for this, though."

"I'm sure I'll be able to repay you, so long as they both receive their promotions with me," I promised. "You have my word."

Tiger smiled coyly. "When you're of age, you can buy me dinner and drinks."

"What makes you think you'll be alive by then?" I asked slyly.

"For free dinner and drinks from a beautiful princess? Not even a Shinigami could keep me."

I snorted at that.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

.Rabbit was actually the one who found and escorted me to the Hokage's tower, citing that Kushina was preoccupied with Minato's own return.

I met my teammates, awarding them with a bright smile, before the three of us headed into Hiruzen's office and began our debrief.

When the summarization was over, Hiruzen puff his pipe, and the three of us stood in attention.

"How long will you be out of commission, hime?" Hiruzen asked me, his gaze boring into me.

"Two weeks," I admitted. "Week and half if all goes well, though."

He nodded his head. "Very well. You three have accomplished much, more so than I ever would have expected. We're seeing a total retreat from enemy forces in our lands, which has given us much needed breathing room, and a chance to prepare for a final offense."

"A final offense?" Obito repeated, his eyes widening with excitement. "Does that mean...? We'll finish the war soon?"

Hiruzen smiled darkly. "Yes, and in far better condition than our enemies. For the moment, though, my shinobi, rest. Report back to me in two weeks, if I have not called for you sooner."

We saluted our Hokage, before the boys turned to leave. I glanced at them. "I'll be out in a moment."

Kakashi nodded his head, grabbing Obito and pulling the curious Uchiha out.

When they left, and shut the door behind them, I said, "I want to push forward with our promotion to become Jōnin. All three of us. I suspect you'll receive recommendations from the ANBU that accompanied us sometime today."

"So soon?" Hiruzen asked. "You truly think Obito is ready?"

"He is," I stated confidently. "You do not need to take only my word, though. Tiger, Panther and Flamingo will be able to vouch for him, as well."

Hiruzen nodded his head slowly. "Very well. I will propose the three promotions to my Jōnin Commander tomorrow, so long as the recommendations are in order."

I bowed shallowly to him. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

The Hokage paused. "The Daimyo is keen to meet with you, especially after your.. Show of power. I will delay this meeting until the war is over, given how essential you are to our plans. When the war is over, however, prepare yourself for meeting with him."

"Do you have a specific goal in mind for our meeting?"

Hiruzen nodded shortly. "It will be treated as a mission, hime. A honeypot mission."

I blinked at that. "Sex—"

He shook his head. "No. Sexual honeypot missions are reserved for a special section in ANBU. This is purely a _friendly persuasion_ honeypot. More can be discussed about it later, though. For now, please rest. We need you for this war."

I bowed again. "Very well, Hokage-sama. Good day."

"Good day."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

We received our Jōnin promotions a week later. There were no exams, or trials that were typically held during times of peace. Apparently, we had received more than a typical amount of recommendations, and given the gargantuan affect our successful mission had on the war, people were clamoring for us to advance into the ranks.

Kakashi and Obito had also entered into the bingo books, though neither had quite the reputation I had groomed. They were still viewed hatefully by Kumogakure and Iwagakure for their apparently systematic, merciless, and utterly _brutal_ clean-up from my attack.

It would appear my sadism had rubbed off significantly onto both of them, and they both shared in Tiger's desire to avenge their fallen comrades.

Let's just say, some of the mangled heads Obito provided for me were not mangled from _my_ attack.

I could _not_ have been more proud.

Upon receiving our promotion, we were all treated to a lovely dinner by Obito's mother, Kushina and Minato. Obito only cried a little bit more than Kushina.

When our two weeks of rest was up, we were sent off on our hopefully final mission for the war.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I sat beside Minato, flipping through a small notebook that had numerous jutsus Madara wanted me to memorize in it. It was written entirely in English, and had a handful of diagrams and sketches for demonstrational purposes.

Minato and I sat on a rather large rock in the center of a wide clearing in the forest. Kakashi was standing, stiff, behind us. I knew he was slowly growing more and more irritated at Obito. I thought about trying to calm him down, but one of the passages Madara had written caught my attention and I became far more interested in than that than Kakashi and Obito's latest pissing contest.

Suddenly, Obito shot out of the tree tops, almost falling flat on his face. We all looked over at him, and Kakashi marched straight towards him, his eyes narrowed in a glower.

"Did I make it?" Obito asked hopefully.

"No. You're _late_ ," Kakashi bit out. "Did you forget what time we were supposed to meet?"

Obito sat up, looking mildly guilty. "Well, I was on my way, but this feeble old lady with heavy bags asked for directions—and I-I got something in my eye— _please don't put splinters in my boxers_."

"If you're going to lie, at least make up a good one," Kakashi snapped, while I looked up with mild amusement.

"Alright, Kakashi, that's enough. I'm sure Obito showed her the way to go. Obito?"

"And carried her bags," Obito laughed.

"You're too nice, Minato-sensei," Kakashi accused Minato. "Obito will never—"

I finally closed my notebook. "Kakashi, relax."

Kakashi cut himself off, giving me a look that crossed between frustration and embarrassment. He clenched his hands into fists, and pointedly looked away from me, his eyes narrowed. Obito gave Kakashi a sly look, to which Kakashi awarded him with a dark glower.

"Today's a special day for you, isn't it, Kakashi? So try to have a least a _little_ fun," I teased, standing up and shutting my notebook.

Kakashi glower faded away, and he sheepishly lowered his gaze. "... It could be a special day for you, too, Naasica."

I shook my head. "Next time."

"Huh?" Obito asked, cocking his head.

"Well, now that the three of you are Jōnin, I thought it was time for Kakashi to lead a mission," Minato said. "Kakashi and I will break up into two teams—you two will follow under his lead for the mission. Hime will lead the next mission as a Jōnin, and then you, Obito."

"Aw," Obito pouted. He was the perfect picture of a disappointed teenager. "Why can't it just be me and Oni-hime, and then Kakashi and you, Minato-sensei?"

I laughed at Kakashi's affronted look, and Minato laughed.

"Don't be silly. I know you three will get along just fine," Minato said easily. "Even if Kakashi is in a bad mood today."

"No kidding," Obito lamented.

"I am _not_ in a bad mood—"

"You kind of are," I agreed with them.

" _Naasica!_ I thought you were on my side."

"I'm on my own side," I retorted. "I get that you're just nervous, seeing how this is the first time you're leading a mission as a Jōnin. Moreover you're leading a _dangerous_ mission with your _precious_ comrades that you _adore_ —"

"I am _not_ nervous, and I do not _adore_ —"

"Jeez, Kakashi, I didn't know you felt that way," Obito said, swinging an arm around Kakashi's shoulders.

" _I don't!_ " Kakashi snarled.

Minato laughed heartily at us. "Alright, children—"

" _Children?!_ " we demanded.

"—we should get a move on," Minato finished, smiling at us.

We exchanged glances, Obito and I petulantly pouting.

"If we must," I muttered, then my eyes sparkled mischievously. "Since I nearly ended the war the last time I lead a mission, I expect you to do the same, Kakashi!"

Kakashi snorted. "If all goes well this should be the final push to end the war in our favor."

Obito's eyes lit up. "Ever since hime made that forest Kumogakure's forces have been steadily withdrawing and Kirigakure won't hire shinobi out to Iwa and Kumo anymore."

I tossed my hair over my shoulder. "After we crush Iwa, Iwa and Kumo will have to offer us their unconditional surrender. Or the Hokage might just send _me_ out to their village."

Obito tugged at his Jōnin flak. "Nah. He has no need for you when he's got his future successor right here."

Minato reached over and ruffled the Uchiha's hair. "Well. You can be _my_ future successor."

I snorted quietly at that.

"Enough," Kakashi instructed, "let's finish this."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

_Destroy the Kannabi bridge, huh?_ I mused, trailing behind Minato. Kakashi was on my right, and Obito on Kakashi's right. _This war is finally reaching the end. After this, the talks of peace will begin between the Kages and Daimyos._

We walked quietly through the tall forest, before all of us froze. Each of us detected another presence.

I sensed their quietly suppressed chakra (same for Minato, most likely)—Kakashi probably smelt them—and Obito reacted on instinct. Through the corner of my eye, I could see Obito's mature Sharingan slowly awaken, as he scanned the environment. I, on the other hand, reached for Kakashi's hand and once I grabbed it, I slowly traced the directions where I sensed the other chakra source.

Kakashi reached over and grabbed Obito's hand, relaying the directions. Obito's eyes snapped to the far upper left branch above us.

Kakashi traced along my palm.

_Obito sees him—confirmed—just one._

_I only sense one,_ I responded.

_I'll attack. You—no escape. Obito—assist._

_Alright, I won't let him escape, then,_ I thought, with drawing my hand from Kakashi. Minato had stepped back, and was watching us with a pleased smile.

We were young.

We looked like children.

When we held hands, we looked like _scared_ children.

Our opponents _always_ underestimated us when we did that.

I slapped the palms of my hands against the ground, and felt the rush of chakra leave me and grab onto the root of the tree the enemy hid in. Smirking in triumph, I manipulated my chakra to take over the tree. Wood shot on from all around the opponent, straight from the tree itself, and he leapt out of hiding.

Right on time for Kakashi to engage him.

The enemy's face twisted into a silent snarl, as Kakashi dug his foot straight into his stomach and launched him straight towards Obito's great fireball.

The flames enveloped him, and he let out a scream.

"Wow," Obito said, as the burning corpse hit the ground. He looked disturbed for a moment, but then cleared his throat and pointedly focused on us, and ignored the corpse. "No one has actually ever been hit by one of those before, you know. It always was used as a distraction."

"Natural selection took part in today's fight, then," I hummed.

"Or just good teamwork," Minato said, beaming at us. "Excellent work."

Obito scratched the back of his head sheepishly, and Kakashi looked away, a lighter gleam in his eyes. I smiled charmingly at all of them.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"... And then there were three," I said, after we had split up with Minato. "Hey, let's actually _not_ walk out in the open anymore and _try_ to be sneaky about this."

"I guess we should _probably_ play it safe," Obito agreed reluctantly, "but, it's not very fun."

I smiled at Obito. "Look at you. Such a long way from a crybaby who couldn't use his Sharingan. Now you're turning into a bit of a sadist, like me!"  
Kakashi shuddered. " _That's_ a scary thought. I still have nightmares about that training regime you put him through to bring him up to our level."

Obito cringed. "I try to suppress those memories."

Kakashi reached over and mockingly patted his shoulder. "I don't blame you."

"Well you're in a better mood," I pointed out.

"I wasn't in a bad mood to begin with," Kakashi defended irritably. "Obito's tardiness just annoyed me."

"Yeah, yeah," Obito dismissed. "So what do you say, Oh-Fearless-Leader? Play it safe?"  
"Given that we're at _war_ , and we're in enemy territory, with no hope of receiving reinforcements, _and_ we are Jōnin perfectly capable of being unseen by the enemy... I think it's a no brainer."

"Start screaming and running through the forest in hopes of starting a battle royal?" I asked slyly.

Obito swatted at me. "Bad bloodthirsty kunoichi, bad."

I giggled.

"You guessed it," Kakashi deadpanned.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"That was... that was actually way easier than I thought it would be," Obito said quietly, as we finally reached the bridge. "I thought we would have more adversary getting here."

 _It helps that we actually played it smart,_ and _that Kakashi and I had trained Obito properly._

"Think you can destroy the bridge from here?" Kakashi asked, kneeling beside me from our perch in the trees.

"I'm offended that's even a question."

_I won't even have to draw on Madara's seal for this._

Kakashi smirked at me. "Can't blame me for asking. I don't want you vomitting on me again."

"That has only happened five times in our entire life," I defended.

"She's only vomited on you five times?" Obito demanded. "You lucky bastard."  
"I bought you new shoes!"

"It's not about the shoes, it's about the emotional scarring you gave me," Obito growled, a spark of mirth dancing in his eyes. "I will never look at a taiyaki the same way ever again! You have ruined them for me."

"So I overindulged a _few_ times—"

"You're allergic and you still ate like ten!"

"I love them," I whimpered. "It's not fair I'm allergic to what I love."

Kakashi patted me consolingly on the shoulder, while I looked off into the distance and mourned my lack of ability to eat adzuki beans.

"Tragedies aside," Kakashi said slowly, "we should probably end this war."

"War on allergies?" I asked hopefully.

"Later," Kakashi promised. "Naasica, while you're destroying the bridge, Obito and I will flank the opposing forces and engage. I don't think we really need much of a plan aside from that."

"If any of you actually get hurt by such pathetic forces, I will dislocate your knees after the battle," I told them sweetly.

"You're such a good motivational speaker," Obito deadpanned. "You should teach at the academy."

"Don't give her ideas," Kakashi whispered, eyeing my smiling face carefully. "The last thing we need is an entire generation of bullwhip cracking sadists like her."

I blinked at that. "I don't have a bullwhip."

"Really?" Obito asked in disbelief. "I always pictured as someone who had a bullwhip."

"I don't have one. Really."

The two boys exchanged dubious looks.

"It's true," I insisted.

"What about a dungeon?" Obito asked. "I always thought you'd have a dungeon."

"She doesn't," Kakashi answered for me. "But she did ask for one."

"In a sarcastic tone," I lied.

"I believe him more than you right now," Obito admitted.

I sniffed, turning my head away. "Hope you like splinters, bastard."

"I've grown accustomed to wearing a cup before bed. I'll add goggles to that, and I'll be golden."

"Whoever said I would add them to your bed? I was thinking more along the lines of that nice bamboo bath—"

Obito whimpered. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Please forgive me, Great One. I am not worthy."

I sighed woefully. "I suppose I can show you mercy. Provided you make me more taiyaki when we return home."

"But you're—" He fell silent at my challenging look. He hung his head. "Okay."

Kakashi shook his head, then cocked his head. "We move on three. One, two, three!"

Another lovely massacre occurred that day.

 **(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** Heavy Rain. Like. Wow.
> 
>  **Question:** Who is the best well done villain in published works? It can be a written villain, like Voldewhore, or an actor who did a particularly great job, like Heath's Joker.
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	20. Mito-chan

**If I make another move, there'll be no more turning back -**

**because everything will change, and it all will fade to black.**

**If I make another move, if I take another step, then it all would fall apart -**

**there'd be nothing of me left.**

**Bad Apple**

_I tried to comfort Izuna._

_He kept crying._

_I wanted to cry, too, but I couldn't._

_The tears stopped coming after Mother died._

_I could only place a hand on his shoulder as we watched Father bury our eldest brother._

_._

_. ._

_. . ._

I entered the building slowly. The preparation building was typically used for missions that required special equipment, in addition to providing one set of standard uniform per shinobi/kunoichi. It was also the place to go to if said uniform became damaged and had to be replaced.

My eyes trailed down to the golden token I held in my hand. The Hokage's secretary had given it to me after our team left his office. Kakashi and Obito were given similar tokens, but both of theirs were a bright silver instead. I was given an order to arrive at the preparation building no later than five hundred the next morning, and Kakashi and Obito had to arrive at exactly seven hundred.

The building was cool when I entered, a welcome break from the humid spring air. The first room was large, mostly concrete, and had ropes stringed up to form some semblance of where a line should be. At the far end of the room was a counter, and a tired-looking kunoichi sat behind it, lazily reading a book. She didn't even glance up when I entered the building.

Since I was the only other person there, I bypassed the ropes and headed straight towards the kunoichi. I placed my golden token on the desk and she finally looked up at me. Her face remained unimpressed as she slowly picked up the token and examined it. After a solid thirty seconds of silence, she finally signed, _Third floor—second door—left_.

Then she moved her hand underneath the counter and I heard a click. A portion of the wall on my left swung open, revealing a dimly lit staircase behind it.

I gave her a charming smile as thanks before heading up the stairs.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The room was clean, and barely looked lived in. There was a heavy smell of perfume that made my nose crinkle in distaste, and I noticed that there was a large vanity table pressed up against the wall. A gorgeous woman sat in front of it, her back turned to it so she had her full attention on me as soon as I entered the room.

Every inch of the woman oozed grace and beauty, and when she spoke, her voice came out as a cross between lustful huskiness, and gentle chimes.

"A pleasure, Hime."I was instantly smitten, and admirable of the woman. To pull off such a powerful presence—especially against someone armed to resist such things—was beyond impressive. To be honest, I even thought Madara would find the woman undeniably irresistible, her allure was _that_ powerful. She smiled playfully at me.

I bowed to her, and smiled as warmly as I could. "My lady. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

She giggled and stood up from her seat. Her long, slender fingers beckoned for me to sit before her. "Come, Hime. We have much work to do." Obediently, I sat in front of the vanity, and relaxed as the beautiful kunoichi began to run her fingers through my hair. "You will refer to me as Kanako-nee for the remainder of the mission. I am Konohagakure's foremost negotiator, and a frequent patron of the Daimyo's court. You will be accompanying me as my attaché, for this mission."

I slowly nodded my head. "Hokage-sama mentioned the current Daimyo personally requested me."

Kanako gave me a smile that made my heart jump, and a blush rise to my cheeks. She bent down to rest her left cheek on top of my head and look at me in the mirror. She purred, "That is correct, my hime. Tezano-donno was an old and dear friend to Mito-hime."

My heart twisted at Grandmother's name.

"Tezano-donno has kept a personal interest in your progress since Mito-hime's passing. Hokage-sama thought it best to keep you away from the court for as long as possible, but with your _marvelous_ debut in the war, he cannot dissuade Tezano-donno's interest any longer. In addition, Tezano-donno's heir, Nebu-sama, has also taken an interest in you. A positive first impression with Nebu-sama is the first step to securing continued good relations with our Daimyo."

"Of course," I demurred.

Kanako gave the top of my head a gentle kiss, and she reached over me to grab a container that smelled like apples. "Tezano-donno is reaching his end, Hime. His mind is deteriorating, and he becomes lost in the past." Kanako uncapped the container and began to rub a thick black ointment on her hands. Then she placed her delicate hands in my hair and began to run her fingers through my hair, detangling it and gently massaging it. My eyes closed at the pleasant sensation. "There is a chance, Hime, that he may mistake you from Mito-hime. Nebu-sama has requested that if that is the case, please indulge his father."

Pretend to be Grandmother?

"I understand," I murmured.

Could I? Of all the people to mimic—could I really mimic someone so sincere? So gentle? So kind? So _pure_?

I wasn't certain, but I would endeavor to nonetheless.

Another thought occurred to me.

"If Tezano-donno is nearing his passing, when will Nebu-sama's coronation occur?"

"In a week, actually," Kanako whispered. "We will be participating in the court every day until the coronation. Hokage-sama will join us personally during the coronation, and for the after party, then we shall take our leave."

My eyes slowly opened, a frown marring my face. "I see. This will be a delicate time for Konoha, then. Many other important noblemen and women will be attending upon Nebu-sama in hopes of garnering favor."

"Yes, exactly," Kanako agreed. "Future clients, and partners will all be there... and they will be expecting you, Hime. I will be with you as often as I can be spared, but there are certain agreements I must secure that are too delicate to risk your... inexperience to. Hokage-sama has reassured me that you are quite capable of catering to nobles on your own, though."

"I have been taught the essentials," I responded, then frowned again. "Is... Is my hair getting longer?"

Kanako giggled. "Of course, Hime. Long hair is essential for many of the currently fashionable styles at the court. You must never wear the same outfit, or hairstyle in the same week, preferably the same month."

I grabbed the apple-smelling container, examining the ointment inside. I had heard of hair-growth before of course, but such stuff was typically restricted in Konoha. Not only were the ingredients rare, but the process to make the ointment was as dangerous as a triple layered seal. Very few people had the capabilities to create it, and only small batches could be made at a time. Due to its rarity, it was ruthlessly sought after by numerous nobles, so it was typically kept in a shinobi village for safe keeping. In exchange for protection a small portion of each batch was given to the village. It usually was kept inside the ANBU, or for honeypot missions.

Given the importance of the mission, I shouldn't have felt surprised that Konoha would go so far as to use such an expensive product _just_ to make my hair appealing to the court. Yet, surprise was certainly what I felt at that moment.

Kanako nails scratched against my scalp and I had to actively resist sighing pleasantly. Playing with my hair along with a scalp massage... it was a testament to my discipline that I hadn't melted into putty in her hands. The woman _knew_ I was enjoying myself, too. Her sparkling green eyes danced with bemusement, and she purposely slowed her pace frequently. I actively resisted showing how relaxed I was for another ten minutes before I gave up and enjoyed the treatment. After forty-five minutes had passed, she withdrew her hands and tapped me on the shoulder.

I opened my eyes again, surprised to find that my hair fell past my waist in soft curls. Kanako wasted no time in twisting it into a heavy bun. Finished with that, she pulled lightly on my arm, urging me to stand up.

My shoulders rolled back and forth when I stood up. I couldn't resist the yawn that escaped out of me, causing Kanako to smile at me again.

"Scars are not attractive to the court," Kanako whispered. "Please take off your over-shirt, hime."

With a shrug, I did as she ordered. When I placed it over the chair, Kanako continued, "Are you comfortable with nudity?"

"Yes," I answered, then fidgeted. Madara had drawn numerous seals over my private areas, and they couldn't be repressed. If I had to be nude in front of anyone, I would likely have to take extensive steps to cover them up. I had come up with a plausible reason for the seals if anyone _did_ see them on the off chance I had to strip on the spot. It was common knowledge that Kushina, and Mito, were fuinjutsu masters, and that Kushina was training me in fuinjutsu.

The seals Madara used were obscured, and he purposefully made them more elaborate and intricate than necessary, so that anyone looking at them wouldn't be able to discern what they were without probing.

"Good. Strip entirely, then," Kanako ordered. "I will need to examine your body for flaws. The noblewoman will want to bathe with you, and if any part of you displeases them—"

"I get it," I interrupted, then hesitated. "Ah. I have some seals on my body. If I am to bathe with those women, I will need time to cover them up."

Kanako blinked at that, her rosy lips puckering out in a small pout. "Unfortunate, but it cannot be helped. Experimenting, Hime?"

"Yes," I lied. "Grandmother mentioned how the Uzumaki Clan would use body seals in combat. I have not been successful yet, so I would like to restrict how many people are aware of my dabbling until I actually _have_ something to be aware about."

Kanako fluttered her eyelashes and placed a dainty hand over her heart. "You have my word I will not inform anyone outside this room."

 _That's a pile of horseshit,_ I thought, making a note to place Zetsu spores on her before the session was over. It was doubtful she would tell anyone except for the Hokage. If she wasn't ANBU I would eat my shoe. ANBU understood the importance of secrecy, _especially_ concerning fuinjutsu. The less people knew about what one of their beloved _prodigies_ could do, the better.

Still, I would have preferred Hiruzen didn't know about the seals. He would undoubtedly ask about them in a year or so, and I would have to provide him with _something_.

Hopefully by that point Madara's seals would be used up, or I could find a way to suppress them—

Bah. The only way to repress powerful seals would be by creating even _more_ powerful seals on top of them and forcing the original seals to be repressed into a second layer.

It was possible, but not probable. I would have to come up with an intricate body seal that was more powerful than the chakra storage seals _Madara_ created. Not only did I barely have knowledge on body seals to begin with, but my fuinjutsu skills were B+ at best, and body seals were SS _minimum._

I felt resentful at my upcoming task, and debated on if it would simply be easier to kill Kanako before she had a chance to tell the Hokage.

But killing an ANBU, an extremely valuable one at that, wouldn't be a cakewalk, either.

I honestly couldn't decide which task would be easier.

With reluctance, I placed all of my clothes over the chair, and Kanako turned me every which way. Her fingers brushed along my skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake, and more than once I saw her eyeing the seals on my chest, plain curiosity in her eyes. It felt a little uncomfortable to be under intense scrutiny, but I refused to let it show.

Kanako gave a quiet hum. "Let's start with body waxing and get that part over with."

I winced.

"You have done well to maintain your skin care," Kanako praised me, sweeping her long black hair behind her. "Your nails, though, will require extensive work."

"Uh—"

"Your figure will work to our advantage," Kanako continued, a mischievous smile playing on her face. "We'll have you looking eighteen in no time."

" _Um_ —"

"You know how to treat proposals?"

"Yes—"

"Good. I will need a report of everyone who fancies you."

"Of course—"

"And Hokage-sama would like me remind you that while you will certainly be propositioned, sex on this mission is highly discouraged for you."

"But not for you?"

She only smiled. "Let's start waxing, shall we?"

I glared at her.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Two and a half painful hours later, and I was stuffed inside an elegant scarlet red yukata with an abundance of orange and black flowers stitched into it. The yukata was cut short at the knees, giving me room to run with it, and Kanako hid my leggings from me.

I had been prodded, waxed, groomed, and all sorts of horrible things to become aesthetically pleasing for the court. While she administered her torture, she gave me a brief list of every future client we would likely meet, and what was expected of me. Almost all of the names she gave me were names that were on Madara's list of allies he wanted me to acquire for our plan, which worked well in my favor. When I met with them as a Konoha representative, I would have an easy opportunity to plant the Zetsu spores on them.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Kanako gave me a once over, her hands grazing along me wherever her eyes roamed. "Beautiful."

 _I look like an expensive prostitute,_ I thought sullenly looking at the mirror. As promised, Kanako did take advantage of my... _early development_.. in order to give me a significantly more mature look than what I was wholly comfortable with.

That being said, I understood the importance of appearing as attractive as possible to future clients, and our daimyo. Even if I was not one-hundred percent comfortable looking like an expensive call-girl, I wasn't _uncomfortable_ with it, either. If any lady or man advanced towards me in a manner I disliked, I was fully capable of taking care of them.

Besides...

A shiver ran down my spine.

If such a human did advance towards me, despite knowing my (physical) age... odds were...

I would find myself another monster.

A monster who would normally be so well hidden, and so well-guarded, I wouldn't have known about him/her otherwise.

I couldn't deny their victims their right for vengeance just because I wasn't _comfortable_ with being bait.

I smiled at Kanako for what I hoped passed as something shy. Her eyes danced and she bent down to kiss my cheek, then pull back. "We'll stick with using light make-up for you. That sunset eyeshadow looks positively dazzling on you, dear Hime."

I forced a blush, and demurely looked away.

Kanako giggled in that cute and feminine way that reminded me that she was an undeniably attractive woman. "That's the way, Hime. Be demure to most, but show a little fire otherwise they'll get bored."

"Mm-hmm."

Kanako glanced at the clock and made a pleasing noise. "Mm. Perfect timing. Let's grab your teammates and head out."

"Ah. Did they get a makeover, too?" I asked, wondering how they dealt with the waxing.

She laughed, like chimes in the wind. "Oh, pet, of sorts. Kakashi-chan and Obito-chan will be your personal guards. They have been receiving special guidance from Juar. Juar has been my personal guard since I took up my post as Konoha's negotiator for the court. He is familiar with proper etiquette and what is expected from well behaved shinobi. I trained him, you see."

I sniffed. "I doubt he would need to train them very much. _I_ have been conditioning Obito and Kakashi for the past years. Their manners are impeccable for clientele."

Kanako's left hand drifted up and played with one of my curls. "Mmm. I've heard something along those lines... I'm curious to see how well-behaved your pets are in comparison to mine."

"I'm afraid the comparison will only shame you, my dear," I purred.

A glint entered her eyes and she laughed, only it sounded less like chimes and more—husky. It instantly reminded me of lust, and I remembered that I was dancing with a kunoichi who had probably seduced people far more stubborn than myself.

Not that she would seduce me, of course.

I was above such things.

Hopefully.

"Indulge me, then," Kanako whined playfully, that husky edge never leaving her voice. "Pet, won't you come in?"  
The door to our room slid open and a grizzled man solemnly stepped in. His face had a fair amount of scars; I instantly recognized that he was aiming for the intimidation factor, rather than the aesthetically pleasing route that Kanako and I were headed in. Juar was in a standard Jounin attire that looked a little battered, and his dark brown hair had bits of silver in it.

He was also startlingly familiar.

In front of Juar were two sour-looking teenaged boys.

"How were they?" Kanako inquired.

"Awful," Juar grunted. "Neither of them were able to control their emotions when I brought up Senju-hime's likely pursuers."

Kanako let out a smug smile and chortle, and I glared at both of them. "If either of you two mess up a single meeting, I will show you the true meaning of hell."

Obito huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "How are we supposed to stand there like rocks when some forty-something-year-old pervert _flirts_ with you?"

"You do it, or I will keep you both in my room and go out alone," I threatened. "Those mo—men wouldn't dare to actually pursue their desires, and securing their happiness ensures more profit for Konoha after the war. Did you two forget that our economy hangs on having a large, and happy clientele base? Not every client will be good, or people that we like, but that's not our place to judge."

"It's not right," Obito muttered.

"You're in the wrong business for _right_ ," Juar snapped, rapping Obito on the head. "If we can't trust you two for such an important mission, we won't take you at all."

"We'll behave," Kakashi promised quickly. "We will protect Naasica."

"Oh, I bet you will," Kanako giggled. "Ah, such innocent love—"

Both boys gave her a venomous look, and I snorted. "It's just hormones. Nothing _innocent_ , or _loving_ about it."

Kanako pouted at me. "Spoilsport."

I shrugged, nonplussed. "So are we leaving soon?"  
"Now, actually," Kanako declared cheerfully. "We'll move at a relaxed pace. We don't want to appear rushed, and we should arrive around twenty-two hundred hours. This will give us time to prepare for our evening banquet the next day."

I gave her a weary look. "How much time do we need to prepare?"

"You and I will both be adorned in full kimonos," Kanako answered. "Thirteen layers are the current rage."

"Fan... Fantastic."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The jewel of the Fire Lands was Hinode (The Rising Sun). Hinode was a beautiful city. It did not reek of anything, like the other cities, but it did have a distinct ash-y scent to it. The reason for that being the giant sleeping volcano that most of the palace was built into. Many centuries ago the volcano, named Amaterasu after the Sun Goddess because of how devastating its eruptions were, would consistently erupt every few decades or so. The land around it was toxic for decades after its eruption, but once things settled down, the lands were _the_ most fertile. People flocked to farm on the "blessed" soil.

Until Amaterasu erupted again, slaughtering thousands.

The process repeated three more times until a one day a princess from the Uzumaki clan fell in love with one of the farmers. The idea that a volcano could take away her love terrified her, and so she set about to creating one of the most powerful seals in existence.

And she sealed the volcano into a permanent slumber. The farmer rose to become an extremely wealthy lord, and bought the princess from her family to become his wife.

They were the first daimyo and lady of the Land of Fire.

Over time, the princess' descendants created a way to harness the volcano's ability to create fertile land. Through their rule, the land became extremely profitable, fertile, and strong. Amaterasu was one of the reasons why our land was considered a great powerhouse.

Our village was strong, most certainly, but what sets us apart from the other, was our ability to recover rapidly from disasters, war, or attacks. If a natural disaster struck Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure or Sunagakure—they would not be able to be self-sustained. They would _have_ to rely on the other lands to provide for their people.

We would never have such a worry. As long as the seals on Amaterasu never failed, neither would we.

Of course that also created such an easy way to disrupt us.

Destroy the seal on Amaterasu and one would, eventually, destroy Konoha. Hell, the built-up eruption could be enough to straight-up destroy Konoha.

Not that destroying such a seal would be easy. The Uzumaki Clan took a special interest in that seal and had _centuries_ to create layers of it, reinforce it, trap it, protect it—you name it, they've done it times a hundred.

Hinode was surrounded by a tall, thick, stone wall that was covered in Uzumaki seals. The seals used were designed to enhance the wall's durability, and strength, and automatically expelled genjutsus around it. The seals involved around anti-genjutsu were impressive, and worth a fortune.

Mostly because no one alive could replicate them. Every year the daimyo and lady would hire a supposed fuinjutsu prodigy who would examine the wall in hopes of being able to replicate the original lady's feat, but to no such avail.

 _I bet Madara would be able to recreate such a seal_ , I thought, as our party broke through the trees and landed on the paved cobblestone road that lead into the city. The walls loomed high above us, with numerous samurai stationed on them. The city glowed behind it, despite it being so late in the night.

There was a plethora of guards stationed at one of the entrance gates, and our group approached them slowly. One of the guards immediately recognized Juar and Kanako and greeted them with a jovial wave.

Kanako moved ahead, wordlessly ordering me to stay with her. I gracefully moved to walk beside her, if only slightly behind her to show deference to her seniority.

"Welcome, Kanako-sama," the guard said, stepping forward.

Kanako gave him a smile that would turn a lesser man into goo before her. "Hello, Hidazo-san. I would like to introduce you to Konoha's darling princess. Senju Naasica-hime."

The guard turned and bowed towards me. I slightly tilted my chin up in polite acknowledgement.

"The daimyo and his heir are expecting us," Kanako murmured, presenting a pile of passports out of her long, wide, sleeves. The pale blue material shined under the moonlight, glimmering softly.

The guard examined the passport quickly, then gave a curt nod. He motioned towards the door, and it swung open with a creaky bang.

Kanako sauntered gracefully through the streets of Hinode. She oozed power and grace, and peopled parted before her in awe, like a sea of mindless sheep. My right was looped through her left arm, and she pulled me along with each step. Her legs were longer than mine, so I had to walk a bit quicker than usual to match her march.

Our "guards" were only a couple steps behind us, Juar in the center and glaring stonily at any peasant that bothered to stare at us for too long. I could practically feel Obito's uncomfortable fidgeting with all the stares Kanako and I received. Kakashi, I found after a quick glance backwards, was pleasantly professional and remained impassive. I was proud of my dear friend for his composure.

The city was as beautiful as I remembered it during each of my visits. I never lingered long in the city; Madara only wanted me to spread Zetsu spores around the city before returning. The city was a dangerous place, he would tell me. Even with all of my training, my chakra was simply too massive to repress _enough_ to not cause the Samurai to reflexively pay me close attention.

And the Samurai were everywhere in the city. The capitals were Samurai recruitment hotbeds. Even if the Daimyo's were close, or at least fond of, their hidden village, it was traditional for Samurai to guard royalty. Not to mention if a hidden village decided to go rogue against their daimyo, for whatever reason, having an army of Samurai at one's beck and call would be immeasurably useful against the chakra-dependent shinobi and kunoichi in the village.

All of the daimyo's knew the Samurai were their best defense against the villages, and as such, they spent a large sum of the city's money on keeping their city staffed with Samurai. Enough Samurai that every block there were likely to be _at least_ three full-fledged Samurai. Each armed with the ability to sense distinctive chakra, a natural resistance to genjutsus, and some with the ability to nullify chakra in small areas. Not to mention their obsessive patriotism towards their daimyo.

Some samurai were so "devoted" towards their _beloved_ daimyo, they would turn their eye away from some of the seedier actions in the city if it meant "purging" it of "unworthy" citizens.

Including, say, children of a geisha.

I slightly shook my head, temporarily shoving away my disgust in order to keep up the presence of a graceful, powerful, kunoichi. I knew I was likely dwarfed by the undeniably irresistible Kanako, but I still had to _try_. The entire ordeal was not only good experience for me, but it was integral to our future plans. I couldn't slack off, or not put forward a hundred percent.

Failure was unthinkable.

It took fifteen minutes to make it to the palace, traveling faster than a civilian, but significantly slower than a shinobi typically would.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Marble flooring glinted in the soft glow of the lanterns that illuminated the hallway. The palace walls were painted red and gold, and adorned with a variety of portraits that had been collected over the centuries. The halls were wide—enough so that ten men could stand shoulder to shoulder and still have an abundance of room—and exuded a strong sense of wealth. The servant that met us at the gates guided us through the palace with the confidence that came with experience.

She never glanced back at us, or at the samurai that patrolled the corridors.

Kanako murmured softly in my ear, "Are you tired, Hime?"

I tilted my head up to look at her, blinking vapidly on purpose. Even as I kept my face the epitome of innocence, my scathing sarcasm shattered the illusion quickly. "Dreadfully so. Walking and thinking is far too bothersome."

She gave a light laugh. "Be sure to rest, then. Tomorrow will be terribly busy."

I resisted the urge to snort in a rather unladylike manner. Choosing instead to flutter my eyelashes and offer a polite agreement to her words.

The servant stopped before wide, rich, cherry-oak doors with beautiful a beautiful engravement of some kind of large cat. The servant turned towards us and bowed lowly. "This will be your room, honored guests. Our daimyo requests that you remain in your room until breakfast has been served."

"Of course," Kanako purred.

The servant straightened back up, her long black hair swishing in its ponytail as she did so. She turned away from us and, with quite some effort, she pushed open the heavy doors.

Kanako pulled us into the room, brushing past the servant and dismissing her in the same instant. Our first room was clearly the waiting room, as it was decorated with fine chairs and sofas, and a single large red-cherry oak table at the center. The far back wall was a glorified hole to an outrageously large white marble balcony. Long red curtains hung around the "doorway" (it really was more like a hole with glass around it), too heavy to be blown along with the breeze.

On the far right side was another large cherry oak door, which I guessed lead to a bedroom. The left side mirrored the right side perfectly.

Kanako gestured towards the left door. "That will be your room, Hime. Kakashi, and Obito, through Hime's room there is another room for you to stay in. Juar and I will be staying over there." Kanako dipped her head towards the right door. "Be up no later than seven hundred tomorrow. Breakfast will be served at ten. Goodnight, children."

Kanako bent down and kissed my cheek before sauntering away to her bedroom. Juar took the moment to make sure the front door to our room was locked before he followed after her.

The three of us exchanged glances. Then, I shrugged and headed towards my room.

It was as exorbitant as the rest of the palace. The bed was _twice_ the size of a standard "king" sized bed. It was enough to _easily_ fit three grown ass adults in it, and they could each spread their legs and arms apart without any bit of trouble.

The bed was canopy style, with transparent red curtains adoring it and too many pillows for any one person to actually use. There was a heavy expensive-looking desk, with paper and ink provided. There were chairs, a sofa, _five_ large dressers...

Obito gasped. "This place is—is _ridiculous_. Who needs this much room?!" Then he grinned. "Oh boy, I can't wait to see where we sleep."

Kakashi snorted. "I doubt it's anything like this."

I let out a sigh, heading over towards one of the doors on the opposite side of the room. When I opened it, I found it to be an extravagant bathroom, complete with a marble bath that looked like it should actually be a small swimming pool.

Obito popped up beside me, beaming. "This is going to be _great_!"

I shoved him out of the bathroom. "I have unconditional first rights to the bathroom."

"Yeah, yeah," he dismissed, then rushed over towards the other door. Kakashi, meanwhile, had begun to set up various traps around the room (per protocol). Obito swung open the door, his eyes bright—

And then he made a high-pitched whine of despair.

My lips twitched into a mocking smile when I noticed their room.

It was, obviously, originally meant to be my room's closet. It was less than a quarter of the size of my room and had two standard, completely ordinary, beds inside. Obito waddled over towards one of the beds and poked at it, looking positively devastated. "It's—it's—"

"Acceptable for peasants?" I teased.

Obito's head snapped up to look at me, his eyes watering and his bottom lip quivering. "But—But—"

I rolled my eyes. "If you want to sleep in a luxury bed that bad, you can sleep with me."

Immediately his pout was gone, replaced with a sunny smile and blush. "Really? Thanks, hime!"

I chuckled. "I have more than enough room. Kakashi, want to join?"

Kakashi shrugged. "As long as I'm not beside Obito."

I stretched my shoulders, and pulled out my storage scroll that I kept underneath my kimono. I opened it up—several more, smaller, storage scrolls popped out—and I grabbed the one labeled as _night_. I heard the familiar pops as Kakashi and Obito pulled out their own storage scrolls (made by Kushina, and myself). I partially unrolled the scroll, revealing a chart that was labelled with different items. I pressed my thumb on one marked as pajamas, and another one marked as hygienic.

Done with that, I put the scroll away and took control of the bathroom. When I emerged in my thin orange night dress with fluffy cat slippers, both boys were already dressed in their pajamas, and waiting for their turn to use the bathroom.

While they headed in, I took the opportunity to create several clones. I summoned forth one of the smallest storage scrolls I carried with me, and released an abundance of Zetsu spores on each of the clones. The clones then left, and I crawled into the bed. I shoved off, at least, twenty pillows before I curled up under the covers and closed my eyes with a sigh.

I doubt I would be getting much sleep on the mission, so I had to take what I could, when I could. A few minutes later, and Kakashi crawled into bed on my right side (towards the balcony), while Obito flopped down on my left side (towards the door).

"Aahh," Obito sighed blissfully. "This is nice."

"It'll be nicer when you go to sleep."

"Killjoy."

I kicked him out of the bed.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The Zetsu spores came back to me three hours before sunrise. One of the spores grew into the bed's headboard, its chakra compressed entirely. It woke me by placing a pale white hand on my forehead. My eyes shot open, and I flushed chakra throughout my system to quickly ward off any feelings of tiredness.

Kakashi and Obito were both sleeping on opposite sides of me, Obito clutching onto my arm and drooling, and Kakashi's head resting in between my neck and shoulders. It took every ounce of skill and flexibility I possessed to untangle myself from them without disturbing them in the slightest. I left a wooden clone behind for them, and motioned for the clone to follow me out onto the balcony.

I shut the door behind us, and the clone confirmed we were alone before I allowed it to draw upon more of my chakra, so it could grow a mouth to update me.

"We focused on covering the palace, instead of the typical places," it said.

"And?"

The clone shifted, uncharacteristically showing a sense of awkwardness. "We... we found a _lot_ of assassination attempts towards the new daimyo."

I blinked.

That... actually made sense. The current daimyo would be passing shortly, and we were here for the official coronation of the new daimyo at both of their requests. If anyone wanted to prevent the upcoming daimyo from "ascending the throne", so to speak, they only had this one week to do so.

"Okay," I said out loud, drawing the word out. I thought for a moment. I couldn't remember who was _supposed_ to be the daimyo in Naruto. For all I knew, one of the assassination attempts was meant to work and put forward someone entirely different. That being said, the current heir was someone that _I_ was fond of. At least in a political sense.

He was purely logical, cold, calculating, and damn manipulative. He did not tolerate people catering to him, nor did he support monsters in his court. He would be a despised daimyo by many of the corrupt politicians that Madara wanted me to sway. It went without saying how much easier my mission would be if my allies despised the current daimyo, enough so that they would gladly do anything to undermine him. They would waste each other's resources and time trying to deal with the other. The daimyo would be kept distracted, and busy enough, that he wouldn't pay much attention to the Akatsuki unless it directly affected him.

The potential allies would be easy to please—simply promising to remove the new daimyo from power, or by occasionally disrupting his plan. In addition, because of the upcoming daimyo's stance on "good" and "anti-corruption", our future allies might even be more lenient to join our cause out of spite.

Even _if_ the new daimyo proved to be bothersome for the Akatsuki, and Madara's plans, I felt confident I could assassinate him myself.

I didn't want to do that, yet, though, because I currently had no puppet to put in his place. Yet another thing I had to hunt for while in the capital. A puppet to replace the upcoming daimyo should anything unsavory occur towards us because of him.

But, one thing at a time. For the time being, I was in favor of the upcoming daimyo, and as such I did not want to see him assassinated.

Which meant I had some assassination attempts to curb.

"Any plans that will occur soon?" I inquired.

Zetsu nodded. "One at sunrise, actually. Yayau-sama, the youngest son to the current daimyo, hired an assassin. The assassin is already in the palace—he infiltrated six months ago, actually. He's been slowly eroding away the security seal on the heir's bedroom."

I whistled lowly. Grandmother had actually personally created the security seals long ago. I had read her private research notes on them, and they were SSS at the very least. The idea that someone, anyone, had been able to erode at all meant that they were an extremely capable fuinjutsu master. Only a handful of people in the world could claim that title, and three of them lived in Konoha. Another lived in Kumogakure, but she was kept in the village. The last one _was_ a missing-nin from Kirigakure, but seemingly disappeared over a decade ago.

It was unlikely he died—fuinjutsu masters did not typically die quietly.

I scratched my cheek, as I thought about it. It still seemed unlikely that _the_ Monake Souto would be the would-be assassin.

 _It's possible,_ I allowed, _that someone of only A-Rank could have gained the skill of SSS and simply kept it hidden. Still... there are only so many fuinjutsu-skilled shinobi, and the mass majority of them are loyal to their village._

_I would prefer not going in blind against the assassin. If I knew who they were, I could prepare accordingly._

"Do you know who the assassin is?" I asked.

Zetsu shook his head. "Not his real identity."

A frown tugged on my lips and I turned my back to the clone to overlook Hinode. A warm wind picked up my long— _too long, this is going to take some time to get used to—_ hair and blew it around me. I brushed it back down with my hands. "What were his chakra capacities like? Jounin level? Chuunin?"

Zetsu cocked its head. "Average Genin."

That made me blink in surprise, and I turned my head to look at the clone inquisitively. "What?"

"We think it's because he is using a suppression seal."

My head turned back to face the city, and my eyes narrowed. I chewed on my bottom lip thoughtfully. The use of a suppression seal wasn't too surprising. The assassin was obviously skilled in fuinjutsu, so he could easily create a high-tier suppression seal. The surprise, though, was that he used it in the first place.

Sure, they were damn efficient in suppressing chakra. If anyone wanted to hide for long periods of time amongst civilians, or samurais, then a suppression seal would be a viable option. The issue with them, though, was that they worked _too_ well. They literally closed off a majority of tenketsus around the body to prevent chakra from free-flowing. In doing that, it built up the chakra before each point—like a dam—and the suppression seal siphoned and sucked all that excess chakra into itself.

Because of all of that, however, it took at least half an hour after the removal of the suppression seal to safely unblock all of the tenketsus; as well as release the excess chakra back into the system without overloading the user's chakra network.

Essentially, by using a suppression seal, one would seriously handicap himself/herself in a fight.

The assassin had to be damn confident his cover wouldn't warrant a fight, and that his plan was near foolproof to use such a risk.

Unlucky for him that I had Zetsu spores.

I couldn't resist cackling out loud at my luck. Grabbing only my tessen, I rushed towards Debu's room, with Zetsu as my guide. The spore merged into my chakra network, so only his mouth remained, and it whispered to me underneath my collar. I took the appropriate turns, and roughed up my hair a bit. I wanted to give the impression that I was in a desperate rush to save the precious heir and his wife.

Finally, I reached his room and I distinctly felt four different chakra signatures. Three of them were clustered in a far part of the room, and another one was slowly making its way towards them.

The guards that were typically posted at the door were unconscious, but alive.

I waited until the fourth signature was nearly at his destination before I kicked the heavy door open with as much strength as I could muster (it flew off its hinges and crashed through the wall in the room).

The assassin whirled back around towards me, his eyes wide. Debu, his wife, and their mistress (who was now clinging onto the wife in fear), let out screams in terror. The assassin made a dash towards them, but without chakra to aid him, I was faster.

My left hand lashed out and I grabbed the assassin with my mokuton. I yanked him away from the lord and drew him towards me before I slammed the bunt of my tessen against his forehead, rendering him unconscious.

I then let him fall to the floor and gave a charming smile towards our future daimyo, his wife, and their mistress. "Good morning, Debu-sama, and his beloveds. I sensed a malicious chakra approaching you, so I came as quickly as I could. I apologize for my appearance, and the door."

Debu, already calm and back in control, got out of his bed. Sharp blue eyes looked me over—they were colder than I would have expected—even as he smiled warmly at me. The expression was contradictory. "Apologies are not needed, Naasica-hime. Indeed, I believe thanks are in order for saving my life."

I shook my head, the picture perfect of humility. "Oh, my lord, please. As a dedicated kunoichi to Konoha, I would never allow such harm to befall you. I need no thanks, nor ask for any. I am simply performing my duty."

"Very well," Debu said. "Let us take this man to the captain of the guard, then."

I bowed to him. "Yes, Debu-sama."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I returned to our bedroom, feeling utterly satisfied by the first impression I left with Debu and his ladies. I threw open the unlocked front door, unsurprised to find Kanako lounging like a lazy cat and drinking some kind of pink-colored tea. Juar stood behind her, his eyes flickering up to meet mine, while Obito and Kakashi both stopped their—arguing, I would guess—conversation and turned to look at me.

"Where have you been?" Obito demanded immediately.

"Saving Debu," I dismissed. "When will breakfast be here? I'm starved."

Kanako looked up from her tea, giving me a warm smile. "Breakfast will be arriving shortly. They typically serve it around ten, but I requested it arrive earlier."

"No special plans for breakfast?" I inquired, genuinely surprised we weren't attending some formal get-together.

"Nobles detest mornings," Kanako explained with a small laugh. "You would be hardpressed to find someone of royal, or noble blood, attend anything before lunch, or, really, _brunch_ for them. The very idea of getting up before noon is positively terrifying for some of them."

I settled down beside Kanako, and the woman immediately began to brush my hair. "After breakfast, Juar and I will have to leave you three alone. We must meet with our contacts before the feast tonight. I trust, Hime, that you know how to preoccupy yourself and keep your teammates in line."

I smiled at her. "Of course I know how to control my guards. Do not worry, Kanako, I ensure we do not leave a poor impression on our future clients."

She patted my cheek. "Good. I will be back a little after noon so I can dress you for our feast."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

There was a soft knock at the door. Kanako stood up from her seat on the couch in a single fluid, graceful, motion. She absently pulled back her obsidian hair and swept it over one shoulder. When she reached the door, she opened it without hesitation.

There were a handful of servants, each one pushing a cart that was covered in different treats. One cart was dedicated to holding jars filled with loose tea leaves, and another with numerous petit fours. I knew Kanako had to have been smiling at them, because each servant (save one who stood in the back and was hard to see from my position on the couch) looked utterly lovestruck.

"Please come in," she purred, standing aside.

The servants rolled in carts of food and began setting up the breakfast on the large table in between the couches. One pretty girl bowed low to us. "Pardon our intrusion, honored guests."

Obito grinned at her. And looked ready to open his mouth to respond, but a single look from Kakashi kept his mouth shut.

Guards were not supposed to talk, after all.

"As long as you do not dally," I told the servants, watching them carefully. They moved with confidence that came from experience, but there was still slight hesitation in most of their movements. They were wary, likely even afraid, of us.

Of me.

The thought amused me. They had every right to be fearful, of course. After my display on the warfront those who did not directly associate with Konoha were potential enemies. And as far as they were concerned, they were insignificant peasants. If they happened to catch my eye, or worse my ire, they would have no protection from me.

Of course I would never harm those who remain out of my way. They likely did not have anything to fear from me, but the potential would always remain there.

It was... _amusing_. Entertaining, actually.

It made me want to laugh at them. In my past life, I would have never thought _I_ could intimidate someone purely from my reputation alone. Intimidate enough that one of them had trembling hands and refused to meet my gaze. Moreover, the idea of a—a—well, practically thirteen-year-old causing such a reaction was hilariously sad.

Still.

I could not fault them for being cautious. Even if their reactions were comical from my perverse mindset, they had every right to be scared.

I tilted my head up towards Kakashi and Obito and wordlessly motioned for them to sit beside me. During proper feasts or formal occasions they would have to stand behind me silently, but given that breakfast was informal I saw no reason for them to act as such.

Even if Juar remained standing stoically behind Kanako, watching everyone's movement with cold eyes.

Obito immediately sat beside me, sinking into the couch and staring longingly at the exquisite-looking and decadent food being placed around us. Kakashi however, remained standing. He crossed his arms over his chest and mimicked Juar, watching the servants with dark eyes.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Left to our own devices, I decided to prepare for the banquet in the evening. I knew Kanako would return roughly five hours prior to the banquet in order to assist with my clothing and hair, but she left specific instructions to make sure my nails, skin, and body was presentable. She told me that after my daring rescue, I would undoubtedly be whisked away afterwards (with her) to bathe with the royals.

So, first thing was first, putting on skin-colored pastes over my seals. The pastes were akin to bandages. One peeled off the back and pressed it on the area one wished to cover. Then they took a special glue that activated the paste and rubbed the edges into the skin. The result? A seamless transition of skin that even shinobi would be hardpressed to find the error in. It would last for upwards of twenty four hours, and was painful to remove if taken off prior.

Painful as in it might take off skin with it.

Once I had covered the seals with the pastes, I returned to the living room and engaged in a game of Snaps with my friends.

"You'll both have to do your nails, too," I told them. "Neither of you have the scars or aura to be fully intimidating, so you must be aesthetically pleasing."

Obito's nose crinkled in distaste. "Do I—"

"Yes you have to," Kakashi interrupted with a sigh. "Alright... I think I can do that on my own."

"If you need help let me know," I told him seriously.

"I will need help," Obito admitted, unashamed. "I've never taken care of nails, or whatever."

"Sit beside me," I instructed him. I would work on my nails once I was done with theirs. Obito offered me his hand and I took it and set to work.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

My polish had finished drying seconds ago when there was a knock at the door. Kakashi wordlessly moved to answer the door, while I pretended not to show an interest at who was there.

The door opened fully and a young man in—in Guardian attire stood there. He couldn't have been more than a couple years older than myself, but he carried himself with an air of confidence. His dark red hair was wild, and his dark blue-grey eyes gleamed with unhidden interest when he saw me. He bowed. "Senju-hime. The current daimyo, Tezano, has requested a private audience with you."

Tezano.

A beloved friend of Grandmother's. I was to—to mimic Grandmother's appearance when he called for me. If he mistook me for Grandmother, I was to oblige that idea.

I quickly pulled my long hair up into a bun and pushed two ornamental sticks through it. "Let's go, then."

Kakashi and Obito seamlessly appeared behind me and on each side. The guardian's smile widened and he offered me his arm.

I accepted it. Guardians were high-ranking. Higher ranking than the daimyo's own children (except for his chosen heir, of course).

"My name is Rabu, hime," he said. "Uzumaki Rabu."

"I am Senju Naasica, as I'm sure you are aware of," I responded.

He gave me a wink.

 _Flirting, then? Is he on a honeypot for me? Makes sense, I suppose. Debu would certainly want me to have a strong tie towards his precious little kingdom. I am a_ monster _, after all. He cannot intimidate me, so he would rather send someone to seduce me._

_A little gross that it's some kind of cousin of mine, but the royals wouldn't give two shits about that. Incesteous asses._

I forced a blush and looked away. I decided to play along for a little while, at least until I reached a definite decision. I could always reject later, but to play along after rejecting him would only raise suspicion.

"S-So," I said, forcing a shy stammer in my voice, "how is Tezano-donno doing?"

"Well, my hime. That is something for you to see," Rebu said, a teasing note in his voice.

"I hope he is well, then."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Alone in the corridor with Tezano, I tucked my knees underneath me and sat beside his large bed. The daimyo turned his head towards me and he let out a tired cough. Dull eyes stared at me. "Mito-chan?"

A cold knife shot through my chest. I bit my bottom lip hard to keep from outwardly reacting further. I knew he might have mistaken me from Grandmother. I knew it. _I knew it_.

Yet I wasn't prepared.

No one had spoken about Grandmother since her death. Not Kushina. Not the hokage. Not even Jiraiya when he visited.

They didn't say her name. Didn't speak about what she had done. Her sacrifice. Part of me wanted to accuse them for forgetting about her, but I knew that wasn't right. She was not someone you forgot. It was more like—more like they didn't dare.

She was the embodiment of light, and the driving force for compassion in the village. She humbled Hashirama on a daily basis when he was alive, and brought the Uchiha to heel frequently. No one ever disagreed with her. No one ever questioned her. No one ever thought ill of her.

She was our queen. Too pure; too good for our disgusting, corrupted, little village. We all knew we didn't deserve her.

But we cherished her anyway. We loved her, even though we were unworthy. So when she passed, no one dared to speak her name.

Our queen had finally found rest, they believed. Our queen had finally found peace, they believed. Our queen had finally left us, they believed.

So they let her go. Let her find her whatever they wanted her to have found.

I didn't, though. I could never let her go. I whispered her name in quiet, lonely nights, when I felt the weight of the world pressed down upon me.

In doing so, I felt—if only for a second—her comforting embrace again.

When Tezano said her name, I felt her presence again. Not beside me, or around me, though. I felt—I felt her with me.

And it chilled me. It brought me no comfort. Instead, I felt an icy dagger dig inside of me and a keen sense of betrayal. Anguish, and pain settled into my stomach, as my mind whirled to process what those feelings meant.

Even as my mind worked, I kept up the facade. "Yes, my friend."

Tezano smiled. "Oh, Mito-chan. I have missed you. Have you heard the soft rain again?"  
I took his hand, goosebumps crawling up and down my arm. "Yes. Like a gentle whisper."

"Mito-chan, I am worried for my children."

"Do not be. I will be there for them."

"Will you counsel them as you did for me?"

"Yes, my friend. Have no worries, or regrets."

He let out a raspy chuckle. "Oh, oh, oh... I found someone, Mito-chan. He reminds me of you. I call him Rabu."

I patted his hand. "Tell me more."

"He has your compassion, and talent. When I saw him, I knew I had to have him. I could never have you, Mito-chan, but I thought perhaps I could have him. He is a good boy. Please watch over him for me."

"I promise," I lied.

"He is your kin, I hope. He has the Uzumaki chakra, but he doesn't know his family. Will you teach him your ways?"

I shook my head. "He would have to return to Konoha with me, my friend. You know I cannot stay in the capital forever."

"Oh, yes, right..."

Tezano smiled again at me—at—at Grandmother. "Tell me the story of soft rain, Mito-chan."

I took a deep breath, and began to weave Grandmother's tale.

The knife inside of my heart dug further in.

And twisted.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a lot of trouble writing this. It was hard to stay focused in a dark-mindset like this story demands. Rewrote it too many times to count.
> 
> **Lovely fanart by arneewenn and OCGuruJenn on deviantART. Links on profile, so please check it out!**
> 
> **Answer:** Nagash by Mike Lee. Always.
> 
>  **Question:** Best protagonist you have ever read / seen?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	21. Opening Banquet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **"If I'm crying in the wind, if I'm crying in the night -**

**Will there ever be a way? Will my heart return to white?**

**Can you tell me who you are? Can you tell me where I am?**

**I've forgotten how to see, I've forgotten if I can.**

**If I opened up my eyes there'd be no more going back -**

**'cause I'd throw it all away, and it all would fade to black."**

**\- Bad Apple**

_It all looked the same to me._

_Corpses blurred together. Uchiha. Senju._

_Nothing but death._

_Who cared about the outcome of the battle?_

_Everyone lost this._

_There could be no winning._

How many more loved ones must I bury today?

_I don't want to love anymore if it only ever leads to this._

_I'm sorry._

. . .

. .

.

The kimono was incredibly uncomfortable. Each step felt stiff and awkward and I struggled to maintain a graceful walk. My grip tightened on my tessen, and my eyes roamed around the hallway as we walked. Kanako continued to move at a sedate pace, her kimono layers sliding silently among the marble flooring.

She must have sensed my gaze on her because she turned her head and gave me a wink. I returned with a wink of my own, preparing my mindset for something more proper that befit the first of many banquets.

This banquet wouldn't be as large as the coronation banquet, but it would be the largest banquet in the week until then. The welcoming feast was exclusive to the noblemen, women, and royalty that was invited to the coronation. It would go on well into the night and at midnight fireworks would shoot throughout the city, to launch the start of the celebratory week.

My goals for the night were simple.

One: Mark every individual on Madara's list with white Zetsu spores. These spores would gather data on them for three months before returning to the cave. This gave the spores plenty of time to collect information on the noblemen after the hubbub of the new daimyo died down.

Two: Reaffirm the powerful bonds between the daimyo and Konoha. That was a Konoha-exclusive mission, but was still essential in order to keep up appearances.

Three: Prevent the assassination attempts on Nebu. Madara and I were prepared for Nebu to take the throne. It would be disadvantageous for us if his less predictable siblings ascended in his place. In addition, it would make number two easier.

I felt Obito's chakra flicker before he began to repress it. Kakashi followed suite, along with Juar.

Our group had reached the halls of the banquet and the servants bowed lowly to us, their foreheads touching the ground. "Welcome, honored guests."

Kanako smiled prettily at them. "Kanata Kanako, with Senju Naasica."

"Our daimyo requested a guardian accompany Senju-hime," one of the servants murmured. "Please forgive us, honored guests, but he is not here, yet."

Kanako's face morphed into fake irritation. "Where is he?"

"I apologize for the wait," Rabu murmured from behind us. I cocked my head, not bothering to turn around fully to face him. He was dressed in the formal guardian attire, a katana slung around his belt and a cocky smile on his lips. He brushed past Obito and Kakashi, and both boys remained neutral-faced, even when Rabu offered his hand to me. "My princess."

I unfurled my tessen, hiding a fake smile behind it and batting my eyes. "Rabu-kun? You will be my escort?"

His smile stretched a bit wider. "Yes. Daimyo-sama wished for only the best to watch over our precious princess."

I took his hand, noting they were smooth. He must have gone through great pains to keep the calluses off his hands. His fingers curled around my hand and he lowered his lips to the top side of my hand. After the chaste kiss he straightened back up and gestured towards the servants.

The servants rose as one and opened the door.

Warmth, laughter, and jovial string music permeated my senses. The banquet hall was large, larger than any building in Konoha. It stretched out like a long rectangular box with gold, red, and black colors dominating most of it. There were nearly a hundred expensive-looking statues and paintings.

There were numerous heavy-looking, elegantly carved, dark tables and chairs placed around the room, although no one dared to sit in them until the daimyo made his appearance. Instead, many men and women mingled about one another, although the majority of the women were stationary due to their heavy kimonos. They fanned themselves, whispering likely venomous words to one another as they eyed their surroundings. In contrast, the men were boisterous and constantly moving about.

Kanako was the first to step through, her head held high. As soon as she stepped through the door and reached the first step to descend into the banquet, many heads were turning to look at her. I saw a plethora of men clamor to meet her at the bottom, and numerous women eyeing the _men_ with jealousy. I waited for Kanako to finish climbing down the stairs and guide her lovesick sheep away before I took my first step in.

Eyes immediately rested upon me, and more than a few conversations fell silent. I lowered my fan, snapping it shut and offering the crowd below me a charming smile.

It set many at ease, and I saw smiles on their faces as I descended with Rabu holding my hand.

Some of the smiles were not nice, I noted.

Some of them were smiles of monsters.

 _Will I hunt tonight?_ I wondered. _It would be so easy to, with the chaos of the banquet in full swing._

"Have you anyone you wish to talk to, my princess?" Rabu murmured to me, his voice covered in honey.

"Oh, I'm not sure," I fretted. "Is there someone I should meet with first, Rabu-kun?"

"Worry not," Rabu said, playing the perfect role as flirtatious guard, "I will not lead you astray. If you trust me, I will guide you to the right people."

I turned to him and I gave him a smile that made monsters want to follow me into a dark alleyway. His cheeks turned red for a split second, and his eyes briefly widened before he regained his composure quickly enough and cleared his throat. I said to him, lowering my voice to an attractive pitch, "I trust you, _Rabu-kun_."

Again the blush returned, and again it disappeared as quickly.

 _He's an excellent actor_ , I thought. _I can't tell if that blush was forced or genuine._

"Then let us begin with an introduction to the royal family," Rabu said, his voice cracking at introduction, and I knew I had gotten to him. I resisted the urge to sneer mockingly at him, choosing instead to smile and docilely nod.

Rabu lead me across the grand floor, deftly maneuvering through the posturing crowd of sheep. Many gazes came our way, but Rabu never faltered. Within the minute he had guided me towards a distant corner where Nebu and his family rested as they awaited the daimyo's appearance.

Nebu's cold eyes glittered when they met mine. The heir was lounging in an expensive-looking cushion, his wife beside him as she played with their mistress's hair. Around them were pompous kiss-assing noblemen, and a handful of concubines, each as beautiful as Kanako.

The mistress, Hana if I remembered correctly, was a pretty and petite-thing. She was also the bearer of Nebu's two children. His wife, Orima, lost her uterus after a nearly disastrous raid many years ago. Unable to bear children for him, Orima found a suitable mistress to do so. Hana had been a lowly street urchin before Orima found her and took her in at the age of thirteen to groom her into being their lover. Three years later Hana produced their first child: a girl by the name of Orihana. Five years later, Nebu finally had his heir: Mo.

The threesome were a happy family, despite how odd the situation might appear. From what information had been gleaned Nebu was actually a doting husband and lover, and cared for both women equally. Orima loved Hana, slightly more than Nebu, and Hana adored them both. The three were rarely seen apart, in fact.

But, such an arrangement was not uncommon. Marriage for royalty was merely an agreement of an alliance. It was rare to find a husband and wife devoted to one another in any romantic fashion, and the two usually slept in different rooms with their respective lovers. As long as the wife provided an heir, there was rarely an issue. In the cases that the mistress had to provide the heir, if the mistress was of noble status she could contest the marriage and claim the man for her own. If the mistress was not of proper blood, she would merely remain a pampered love toy.

There were other cases where a threesome relationship was arranged, though. The previous daimyo had one with his wife, and their lover: Kei. Kei had even claimed and kept his royal standing after the daimyo and his wife passed away, living extremely well-off until he peacefully passed away in his life.

Hana noticed me after Nebu, her green eyes lighting up and a beautiful smile stretching across her face. Orima felt Hana's shift in attention and her violet eyes flickered up to meet my gaze. The beautiful dark-skinned and dark-haired woman awarded me with a thin smile before returning her attention to Hana's golden hair.

"Pardon my intrusion," I murmured, raising my pitch to a more feminine and demure sound. "I wished to introduce myself properly to you, my lord and ladies."

Nebu smiled at me. "Senju Naasica, Mito-sama's most precious granddaughter?"

I withdrew my right hand away from Rabu and placed it over my heart as I dipped my body down into a shallow bow. "Yes, Nebu-donno."

"You were so heroic this morning," Hana cooed, her eyes bright. "Being a kunoichi must be so exciting."

A blush formed on my cheeks and I bashfully looked away. "It is all I know, my lady."

"Of course," Nebu said softly, a steel in his tone. Despite the warmth in his smile and the welcoming posture he held, there was a coldness in his eyes and voice that couldn't be hidden. "I must thank you for this morning. Truly, I would be horrified to imagine what would have befallen us without your intervention."

"Think nothing of it," I insisted, still blushing and smiling shyly.

Hana shook her head, turning her head up and looking up at Orima with a pleading look. Orima's eyes softened at Hana's expression and she lovingly tucked a strand of Hana's hair behind her ear. Then Orima's gaze lifted up towards me and she smiled with her teeth; the warmth she had when looking at Hana was gone upon seeing me. "You must sit with us come dinner. Tell us of your adventures. Perhaps in regards to the, ah, _unique_ forest you created within our lands?"

"I would be delighted to, if it would not impose."

Nebu, who also saw Hana's borderline puppy-dog-eyes, gave a curt nod. "Think nothing of it. I will have the servants arrange a seat for you and your... guard."

Rabu bowed lowly. "I would be honored, my lord."

Nebu smiled stiffly. "Do not mention it. Chichi-ue mentioned he would like for you to personally attend to our honored princess."

Rabu smiled at him in such a way that made me think he actually disliked Nebu. "If you will then excuse me, my lord, I promised the princess I would escort her."

"Of course. Do have a pleasant night."

Rabu's hand once again found my own and off we went. Like the perfect puppet at a show, I played my role to perfection. I batted my eyes, smiled when I needed to, and asked appropriate questions to keep the conversation going. I got every reaction I wanted: I charmed my audience like the silver tongued beast I was.

It was ridiculously easy to plant spores on each of my targets: three for the largest weapons manufacturer, four for a rising nobleman who was the best smuggler known to all nations, three each for high-ranking officials from other lands, two for each gossiping consort that frequented court, six each for those I knew were disgruntled by Nebu rising to the throne.

I, unsurprisingly, found a few monsters during the introductions. Men and women whose gaze lingered longer than necessary and had an unmistakable twist to their smile.

I gave them each a spore to track their movements.

I would hunt them down before I returned to Konoha.

At long last, over an hour since I had first entered the banquet, the daimyo made his grand appearance and it was time to eat.

I settled down beside Orima, feeling Kakashi and Obito's presence slowly fade into the background. I saw numerous bodyguards stand further back from their respective clients as the guests took their seats at the appropriate table. Typically, I would have sat beside Kanako at Konoha's table near the daimyo. Since Nebu invited me, however, I was obliged to sit amongst his family at his table to the daimyo's immediate left.

Hana sat in between Orima and Nebu (which was slightly scandalous, given her status, but since Nebu was the upcoming daimyo, no one would dare gossip about such a thing). Orima continued to dote on her with fond eyes, and Nebu kept a hand in her lap that Hana played with while food began to be served. The young blonde woman seemed inordinately happy to be pampered by her two lovers, if the smile and brightness in her eyes was anything to go by.

Rabu sat beside me, the same easy smile on his face as he did so. I listened with mild interest at the idle chatter around the table, no one daring to speak too loudly, or take the first bite, until the daimyo did so himself.

The food was delightful in both smell and appearance. There were piles and piles of golden-cooked meat, buns, noodles, rice, fried treats, an assortment of odd-looking fruit, and too many unique dishes that I didn't recognize to count. I kept my back straight, and eyes sharp as the servants continued to pile the food onto each of the tables.

I felt a cold sensation in between my breasts, and I channeled a bit more chakra to the spot. The Zetsu spore grew a bit more, enough to form an appendage.

Another assassination attempt was due for the night. Actually, several were, but the first one was nearing.

Zetsu tapped out a message: Eight – Left – Two – Back

I reached out with my chakra sensing ability and counted eight signatures to the left, then two back. I could feel the presence of the would-be assassin as she neared Nebu's table. She was going for a rather straightforward hidden knife, then stab approach. She had no expectation of escaping alive, and was prepared to commit suicide shortly after her attempt. I would have to immediately render her unconscious to prevent such a ploy, and create a clone to personally guard her until she could be properly questioned.

Zetsu knew the servant was blackmailed into the attempt: Nebu's brother (in line after Nebu and his heir) had a plethora of assassination plans, most of them involved blackmailing or threatening servants that had been at the palace for years (and thus had trust).

I waited patiently for the girl to near, knowing that a civilian would never be faster than me. I had to make sure the attempt was known before I stopped it, though, 'else my heroism wouldn't have enough of an impact.

My fingers ran along my tessen, and I listened with polite interest as Rabu told me a lovely story about the first time he visited the market in the city. The girl finally reached the table and gently set down a large soup of some kind that smelled delectable. She bowed towards the heir, then abruptly leapt at him.

My left hand snapped towards them and wood lashed out from it. I grabbed the girl, lifting her high into the air and warping my wood around her arms, legs, head, and even gagged her mouth. There were shocks of horror and surprise, even more so when the girl dropped her knife and it clattered to the floor.

Rabu was the first to recover. "Guards, take the girl to the dungeon to question!"

I squeezed my wood around her throat, choking her out to render her unconscious for the guards. The tip of my wood broke off and I formed a clone from it (transformed to look like a standard Konoha Jounin). When the guards arrived, I lowered the limp girl into their arms and smiled at them. My clone left with them quickly.

"What an exciting evening," Nebu commented. "Once more you have saved my life, Senju-hime."

"I merely perform my duty, my lord," I responded elegantly. "Konoha is always ready to serve and protect."

"So it would seem," he murmured. Then raising his voice, he addressed his guests. "Let us enjoy our food."

There were resounding murmurs of agreement as the sheep obeyed their master.

The next assassination would occur soon, or was planned to. It was always possible that they would get cold feet and not attack.

If that were the case I would have to kill them before the night was over. I had no predictions to what they would do if their plans went awry. Luckily for me most of the would-be assassins were civilians blackmailed or threatened into action. They would be quick to dispose of. Two of the assassinations, however, were from professional shinobi going undercover as showmen. They were hired by separate noblemen for the same goal, and ironically were going to attempt the same assassination in nearly the exact same manner. Namely, when the lights went down for the grand finale of the show during dinner, they would strike.

Thankfully I was near Nebu and his family, so it would be child's play to protect them with such a forewarning.

"Tell me, Naasica-chan-ah, you can call me Hana-chan if you want-about the forest you made. They say that you single handedly defeated thousands of Iwagakure and Kumogakure shinobi in the space of a night," Hana said excitedly, leaning towards me. "They say that the land trembled underneath you and the rivers ran red with blood!"

I smiled at her like a master would a pet. "The rumors exaggerate, Hana-chan."

"Then tell us what really happened," Nebu said, though it came out like a command.

With a deep breath I began to weave a poetic tale of my mission. I kept out the more gruesome details, as I could tell that Orima didn't like Hana knowing such horrible truths. I gave her more exaggerated battles with Kakashi and Obito cleaning up who had survived my initial attack. She clearly was more interested in heroic fights than a one-sided massacre, and I didn't have many heroic fights.

When I was finished with that tale, I regalled her with different missions that weren't quite so gruesome, but still interesting from a civilian standpoint.

Hana listened with rapt attention, her pretty green eyes wide with wonder. Nebu and Orima clearly weren't as fascinated by the tales as Hana, but I did manage to entertain them with some of my more outrageous stories.

Halfway through dinner the lights dimmed and a parade of circus performers entered the banquet. They danced and balanced on large balls. The simpletons oo'd and aah'd at all the appropriate times

I sipped carefully on the rather rich broth of some rainbow-colored soup. The entertainers continued to pour into the grand hall and I saw some dressed in all black climb up the walls and hover near the lights. They placed different colored sheets over the lights, painting the entire room in a kaleidoscope of different colors.

 _This broth is rather delicious_ , I thought to myself, taking another sip. To my right Rabu shifted, and I felt his hand rather carelessly graze against my thigh. I resisted the urge to drive a kunai into it, reminding myself that I was to play the role of demure princess. That being said I _did_ feel a slight spike in killing intent behind me, likely from one or both of my teammates.

My lips twitched in fond amusement at that, and my immediate anger at Rabu was replaced with fondness for Kakashi and Obito.

Still, next time Rabu's hand slipped towards me I _accidentally_ jammed my knife into the back of his hand.

He retracted it quickly, letting out a soft hiss.

I gave a quiet gasp of surprise. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were bug."

Rabu gently pulled the knife out of his hand—I almost made it go clean through, _oops_ —and gave me a pain smile. "A bug, aha? I see, I'm so sorry my princess."

I continued to smile sweetly. "Perhaps you should get that looked at, Rabu-kun. I would hate for it to get infected."

"That might be a good idea," Rabu allowed. "If you will excuse me, then."

"Of course."

Rabu gave a curt nod to me, and a deep bow towards the royal family, before he left. Not many people paid much mind to him, as the majority of the sheep were entranced by the entertainers. I was a bit disappointed the three other planned assassination attempts hadn't occurred, and I made a mental note to go ahead and kill the assassins tonight to prevent any unpredicted plans later.

After all, I already planned on hunting down the monsters I found tonight.

Their victims would hate for me to delay my hunt simply because there was a chance I could get _caught_. The monsters were too tempting of targets for me to simply ignore. I could not, in good conscience, let them continue to roam free simply because they were wealthy or powerful people.

Monsters simply could not live.

I took another small sip of the delectable broth, savoring its taste on my tongue as my eyes roamed around the guests. I could feel unsavory gazes upon me, and to my delight I found the eyes of monsters I had missed the first time around. I smiled at the monster, and she smiled back at me.

The lights dimmed and I saw two of Nebu's would-be assassins begin to their stances. The lights went out, and my left hand snapped up and created a large wooden shield in front of Nebu and his family. There were two loud _thunks_ into my wood and the lights came back on and those silly little assassins hesitated for a second too long.

"Kakashi, Obito," I intoned softly, pulling out my tessen and unfolding it to cover the lower half of my face.

My teammates moved and soon were upon those assassins. The palace guards moved to assist, but it became apparent the assassins were Jounin, and simple guards would not do. So instead they moved to cover the exists, and my companions worked well with one another to capture.

The sheep awed and oo'd at their one-sided battle. They clapped when Obito pulled out an impressive katon-style ninjutsu, and when Kakashi used his half-baked Chidori to surround Obito's fire with lightning. When it was said and done Obito and Kakashi tied up the assassins and passed them along to the guards before returning to stand behind me.

Nebu glanced my way and gave another nod. "Again, I owe you my life it seems."

I fanned myself. "Please, Nebu-sama. I live to serve."

"Of course," he murmured quietly.

And on the feast continued.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Rabu did not return to my side for the remainder of the night. I wondered if perhaps I hurt him too bad, or if he was preoccupied with something else. Not that it mattered. I had no intentions of seeing him again after our mission.

I stayed with Nebu and his family, citing that it would be best if I remained their guard for the night.

In truth it was simply easiest to assert myself as a strong political opponent when the upcoming Daimyo provided me with open support. By including myself in his conversations with the other nobles and whatnot, I was able to present myself as a powerful player.

It made me even more desirable to court, and all that power would be so exceedingly useful in obtaining the appropriate blackmail needed for the Akatsuki.

After all, the Akatsuki would need clients in the future to harness enough money to build our army. An army of Zetsu clones simply won't be enough, Madara and I figured.

We had to build our own village from the ground up.

Amegakure simply wouldn't be enough, either.

Then the banquet finally came to a close and we were told it was time to set off the fireworks.

The night air was gorgeous; crisp and cool. It wasn't cold enough to bother, nor warm enough to produce a sweat. It was absolutely perfect and it felt undeniably pleasant. I lifted my head up at the starry sky, knowing that the evening was finally drawing to a close.

The fireworks would shoot off and all the guests would go into separate little corners to watch. Many of them would congregate onto the patios, or return to their private rooms to watch. The fireworks would go on for nearly an hour, providing the perfect closure to the night. I had planted the heir, his mistress, and his wife with Zetsu spores that would warn me if anyone of malicious intent approached them. There were no planned assassination attempts on them that I was aware of, but one could never be too sure.

Kakashi and Obito were on each side of me, still not speaking a word like proper guards.

I leapt high up, digging my chakra into the wall and calmly walking up to the rooftop.

I intended to stay nearby the heir while the fireworks went off before returning to my room and resting. I did not, however, have the patience or energy to cater to the simpering and disgusting guests that surrounded him.

And the kimono was atrociously suffocating.

I walked a bit further onto the roof of the palace, then undid my obi and let the layers of the kimono fall to the floor. Daintily, I stepped out of it in nothing but my thin, white, under dress. I pulled out the pins in my hair, feeling great relief as the tension eased from the top of my head. My hair fell freely and wild and I ran my fingers through it. "Obito, Kakashi, I give you my permission to sneak food for yourselves. Please bring me back something sweet, and make sure you aren't seen. It's unbecoming "

"Oh, _thank God_ ," Obito sighed with great relief. "I'm _starving_."

"We'll be back in a few minutes," Kakashi promised.

The two boys then rather hurriedly left, undoubtedly excited to be eating such expensive and luxurious food. I stretched my arms up high above my head, feeling my back popping pleasantly. A wind carried the ashy scent of the city, gently blowing through my hair. I picked back up my tessen from where it rested on top of my discarded kimono, gripping it tightly and wondering if Madara would enjoy watching the fireworks.

"Who are you?"

My spine stiffened, and I slowly turned around to find a boy—surely not much older than myself—who wore extremely rich dark-colored shinobi attire. The material was high quality, finely stitched, and expertly put together. The boy was wealthy. His blond hair was shaggy, though, and looked rather unkempt which contradicted the previous thought. Nobility did not have unkempt hair, shinobi training or not.

Another wind blew between us, picking up my hair and making it dance a little.

The boy's sharp blue eyes widened briefly before narrowing abruptly. "I asked who are you. Answer me."

I didn't recognize the boy. A wealthy boy about my age with blond hair, blue eyes, and shinobi training. If I did not recognize him, then he likely wasn't important.

That being said, it wouldn't do to be overtly rude.

On the other hand I had spent _hours_ pampering to insufferable bigots. The spiteful side of me purred at the chance to be a little mean.

So I flickered, and suddenly I was in front of the boy, pushing him to the ground and sitting on top of him. His hands were pinned above his head in the same instant with my left hand, and I summoned wood from my feet to bind his own legs and feet.

I gave him a smile that melted hearts, and the boy's cheeks turned red.

"Who am I?" I purred, "I could be your assassin tonight. Maybe not. What a silly thing to ask a stranger, though. Especially when you're so very alone, and so _very_ vulnerable."

With my right hand, I placed my tessen on his chest, feeling his heart beating incredibly loudly. There was a spark of fear in his eyes, and I felt a vindictive glee bubble inside of me at that. I laughed, releasing my hold on him and gracefully standing back up. I unfolded my tessen and covered the vicious smile on my face. "So quick to be afraid, you poor little boy."

The boy flushed, quickly standing back up. "I-I wasn't afraid. You merely caught me off guard, kunoichi."

I fluttered my eyelashes and gave him a look that made him turn red with clear embarrassment. He turned away from me, covering his mouth with a hand. "I apologize, kunoichi. It was rude of me to call you out when you clearly wanted to be left alone."

"Apology accepted," I purred, taking a step towards him. He instinctively flinched, and I shot him a smug smirk.

"Do you always greet people that way, though?" He asked, his cheeks still red.

"Only when I'm bored," I answered simply. "Which I'm starting to feel again, so I suggest you scurry off to your pampered life, unless you wish to entertain me for the evening."

He gave a wince then smiled hesitantly. "I cannot simply leave a young lady unattended, regardless if she is a kunoichi or not. Okaa-sama would be greatly displeased with me."

"Ah. So you wish to entertain me, little boy?"

He looked very much like he did not want to do such a thing.

I laughed. "Go, boy. My guards will be returning shortly, you needn't worry about me. Thank you for alleviating some of my boredom, however."

He smiled at me. It was a charming smile. "Always happy to help. May I know your name?"

"A gentleman goes first."

"Call me—Call me—Momo."

"Momo," I repeated. "My friends call me Naasica."

His eyes widened. "Senju-hime?"

I smiled at him. "An issue with that?"

He shook his head. "No, my princess. Let me apologize again for my rudeness."

I forced a blush on my cheeks, lowering my eyes in a demure manner, and smiling at him with shy affection. The result was hilarious, as the boy's cheeks flamed once more and he immediately averted his gaze and covered his mouth.

Ah what fun it was to play with people's emotions like a violin.

He cleared his throat, his cheeks still red. "I hope you have a pleasant night, Naasica-hime."

"Please," I simpered, keeping the blush in place and batting my eyelashes, "No need for honorifics, Momo-kun."

The boy abruptly turned around from me and gave me a wave. "O-Okay. I, ah, I, ah, hope to see you later, Naasica-h-ah, Naasica."

"Bye-bye," I purred. The boy left in a hurry, and once he was gone and I no longer sensed his chakra, I let out a cackle.

I was still laughing when Obito and Kakashi returned, carrying armloads of food. Obito plopped onto the rooftop and I sat beside him, still giggling. Kakashi sat on my other side and both boys placed some food in my lap.

"What's so funny?" Obito asked me.

"Boys are so easy to play," I cooed.

Obito slung a friendly arm around my shoulder. "Then it's a good thing we're men, right Kakashi?"

"Yep," Kakashi agreed, putting an arm around my waist, then tugging down his mask with his free hand. "Sorry it took so long. There were a lot of guards trying to sneak food."

I smiled and kissed both of their cheeks. "No need to apologize. Let us relax and enjoy the show now."

And the first of the fireworks shot up in the sky and exploded into thousands of bright red sparks.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

They slept like little angels.

I brushed back their bangs and I pulled the covers over them. They never moved or showed any reaction to my gentle touch. They were sound asleep, content in knowing that I would keep them safe.

They were right.

And while I would adore to remain with them, I had a busy night ahead of me.

I slipped on my black kimono and a porcelain white cat mask.

There were monsters I had to hunt.

The spores guided me to where each monster slumbered, and while I longed to take my time with each of them (to show them the fangs and claws of their victims), I could not risk it. I paralyzed each of them, allowed them to remain fully awake and conscious, and then I slipped open their guts on their _precious_ and _luxurious_ beds.

I wished I could hear their screams. I wished I could take each one away and make them feel every bit of pain they inflicted onto their victims.

Seeing the fear and agony on their face simply had to do.

_Monsters, oh monsters, will you bleed for me?_

_Monsters, oh monsters, will you scream for me?_

_Monsters, oh monsters, will I become one of you?_

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first big banquet is down. Poor servants are going to be quite startled come morning after Naasica's self-appointed "clean up".
> 
>  **Answer:** Speaking purely in terms of character development I would have to say Izuku from bnha, but in terms of sheer love I would say Momonga from Overlord or Koudo from Classroom of the Elite.
> 
>  **Question:** Best supporting character?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	22. A Hero's Plight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Let me introduce myself.**

**You didn't think I was done, did ya?**

**Well I've just begun.**

**Some people live for attention, playing the** _**victim** _ **.**

**But baby I was born to do the** _**killing** _ **.**

**Monster by Kira**

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

_Feel the_ crick-crack snip-snap _of the ribs underneath my feet._

 _Taste the_ slick-slimy-sticky _of their blood on my lips._

 _Hear the_ wheedling-whining-wasteful _cries in my head._

 _Smell the_ sickeningly-sweet-sweet-sweet _flesh all around._

 _See_ the bodes the bodies the bodies the bodies the bodies the bodies the bodies the bodies the bodies the bodies the bodies the bodies—

. . .

. .

.

There was a sense of disquiet when I awoke the following morning. I had returned to bed scarcely an hour before dawn and enjoyed a few hours of rest before Kakashi gently shook me awake. It took me a handful of seconds to shake off the grogginess and become alert enough to wax a smile on my face at my teammate.

I could see his lips move upwards in a quick small smile behind his mask, but then a somber expression returned to his features. "There were a lot of murders last night."

"Oh dear," I feigned. "That must not look good on the palace guards."

"All security was focused on the royal family, so the nobles who came to visit had to provide their own guards," Kakashi said, leaning back to allow me to sit up. "Over thirty deaths."

A frown tugged on my lips, even as a swell of pride bloomed inside of me.

Oh, how I knew their victims would be praising me if they knew. Truly a shame I could not have drawn out their pain more so, but at least I knew those monsters would not feast upon innocents anymore. A sense of content settled over me at that thought. Everything I did was to create world without monsters—with only love and peace. What a hero I was to venture on such an honorable quest.

The hero the world would never admit to wanting, though.

A pity.

"Do they require our assistance?" I inquired. "Are we to hunt the murderers?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No. They're contacting another group from Konoha to come for that. Our mission remains the same."

"Oh, I see. Does Kanako want something of us, then?"

Kakashi nodded. "She said this would have unnerved a lot of potential clients—they may want to hire Konoha shinobi instead of their own guards now. Everyone's still impressed with how you saved the heir and his family."

I smiled in response. "Konoha will receive better business from this then. How fortunate."

"Yeah. So get dressed, Kanako will be tending to the nobles so she wants you to appease the heir and his family."

"Very well. Where's Obito?"

"Getting food. He should be back shortly."

I nodded at that and hopped out of the bed. I released my long hair from its braid, and ran my fingers through it. The knots came away with ease—as I used proper shinobi force—and I worked quickly to become presentable. By the time I had my hair finished Obito returned with a cart filled with food. He beamed upon seeing me. "Good morning, hime!"

"Good morning, punching bag," I greeted cheerily. He pouted a bit at that, sitting next to me at the vanity and offering me some kind of bun. I took it out of his hands with my mouth—as my own hands were busy twisting my hair in some elaborate bun—and ate it in two bites. I swallowed the sweet juicy bits, licking my lips. "That was surprisingly good."

"I know, right?" Obito asked, tossing one to Kakashi. The silver haired Jounin ate it in one go, giving a shrug in response. Obito snorted. "If you don't think that's amazing, you're crazy."

Kakashi cocked his head. "I've been called worse. Naasica, is this one okay?"

I glanced over at the kimono he laid out. "Yes, that will be fine. Thank you."

"Need help getting into it?" he asked.

"Mn. I'll need help tying the obi, and if you could straighten everything out when I'm done, that would be appreciated."

Both boys nodded at that. Once I had wolfed down enough to be satisfied I changed into the red kimono with Obito and Kakashi's assistance. Then I applied light make up—and ate one more sweet roll of deliciousness—before calling myself presentable. "Okay. Let's go kiss some ass."

Obito snickered at that while Kakashi rolled his eyes. My teammates fell into place behind me, and we moved through the somber halls. As we walked we could hear bits of horror-struck gossip from the servants that passed by, and the faint cries of loved ones as their mourned their monster.

 _You should be thanking me,_ I thought. _But I know you won't; not yet at least._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The servants opened the door for us and let us into Nebu's private suit. He, his wife, and their mistress were seated around a table covered in food. There were large, plush, empty cushions scattered around the opposite side of the table. Nebu looked up at me, dark circles under his cold eyes. "Good morning, Senju-hime."

"Good morning, Nebu-donno."

He gestured towards the seats. "Please, sit. Your guards are welcome to join us."

I inclined my head in an acknowledging manner before gracefully sitting down. Obito and Kakashi sat on opposite sides of me, silent and blank-faced. I smiled at Nebu. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough. I'm glad someone like you is protecting my family. It is a shame that protection could not be extended to my nobles, though," Nebu said softly.

"If I were stronger and forewarned I would have been able to do more," I responded quietly. _Yes. I would have prolonged their suffering. Oh, if only..._

Nebu nodded. "You are not a god, and such expectations are unkind to set upon you. You have already performed well in your duties to protect me and my family."

I only continued to smile.

"That being said, I was wondering if you would indulge me—a favor, if you will," Nebu said carefully, his eyes never leaving my own as he watched for my reaction.

My lips stretched a bit wider. "I would be honored to assist you, Nebu-donno. You need only speak of your desire, and I will move mountains to make it a reality."

"Unnecessary for the moment. My son is fascinated by the shinobi culture. Would you please allow him to accompany you on the rest of your stay here, and answer his questions?"

"But of course," I said without hesitation despite feeling vaguely affronted at being assigned glorified babysitting. But I was all smiles and teeth, forcing a faint blush across my face to convey a sense of embarrassment and humility at being asked such a thing. "Where is he now?"

"Mo, come in."

The door opened once more and—

My smile slipped.

_Of all the stupid luck!_

Momo—Mo—stepped in, looking just as he did last night when I practically molested the boy in a fit of boredom and irritation. I planted the smile back onto my face, morphing my expression into that of polite indifference. Mo, heir to the upcoming daimyo, stepped forward and bowed to his father. "Thank you, Outo-sama."

Nebu's lips curled into an odd smile. It was neither soft like the one reserved for his mistress and wife, but nor was it cold like the one used for his guests. I couldn't say for certain that the two had a strong bond, or that Nebu thought of Mo as anything more than his heir.

 _He should be due for a spare heir soon, though,_ I thought. Royalty and nobles typically had two to three sons. The firstborn being the heir, the second born being the spare, and the third used as a political bargaining chip for marriages or alliances. Third sons typically had it best; they received all the luxury of being noble/royalty, but none of the responsibility. Even the daughters had more duties than a third born son.

No one had more than three.

 _No one_. It was considered bad manner to have four or more sons, and in feudal times they would sell their fourth and onwards children into slavery, or shinobi clans. The practice didn't publically continue, but the fact that not a single family claimed to have a fourth son—or more than two daughters—was downright suspicious. More than once Konoha orphanages would "mysteriously" find a baby at their doorstep with a sizable amount of money attached to said baby. No questions or investigations ever went into those children.

Mo then turned towards me, a charming smile on his face. "Thank you for looking out for me, Senju-hime. If it's alright with Otou-sama, I would humbly request to steal Senju-hime's time now. I wish to test myself against her."

"You may do so. Senju-hime, I trust you will be able to join us for dinner?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Do you require changing first, hime?" Mo inquired politely.

"No," I responded, clipped. "Do you have a private yard we might use?"

"Yes, please follow me."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I rolled my shoulders back as I awaited Mo's first move. The little brat had earned my ire with his deception. What kind of soon to be prince sneaks up on undressing women on rooftops? He shouldn't have been there, and he _should_ have identified himself right away. Now the annoying cretin posed a mild threat to my secured alliance with his father. If I wasn't certain how Nebu would take the death of his son, then I would have slit his stupid little throat already.

Displeasure must have shown on my face because Mo looked decidedly nervous. Hesitantly he said, "I'm sorry for the deception, hime."

I inclined my head in an arrogant manner. "Do you think pretty words will make me go easy on you? It's against my nature to hold back."

"I would have nothing less than your full e-effort," Mo said, transitioning into a stiff stance.

Kakashi and Obito sat in a nearby tree. Mo and I currently stood in a grassy clearing in a courtyard. Mo then shot towards me with a battle cry.

I effortlessly swatted his outstretched first with my tessen, then with my free hand I hooked a finger through his shirt and threw him hard away from me. He slammed into the ground hard enough to crack it and retch. He stayed there for a solid minute, wheezing for breath and trembling. In a cold voice I called out, "Is that all you can do, _little boy_?"

_Pathetic mongrel._

Mo rolled over onto his side, coughing. "Y-You truly a-are incredible, hime."

_You say that like your opinion matters to me._

"You didn't answer my question. Are you done, little boy?"

"De-epends." Mo pulled himself to his feet. "Can y-you make me stronger?"

 _Can? Yes. Will? No. There's no benefit to me for doing so._ My lips curled into a sneer. "Why would I train _you_? I'll only be here for a few more days, and I have far too much value to be regulated to a permanent babysitter at the capital."

Mo's face turned into that of open hurt— _Oh my God you cannot be so damn transparent if you're going to be a ruler_ —before he lowered his gaze. "You a-are correct. If I went to Konoha, th-then?"

"I still have missions to perform. I would barely be able to spare you an hour's worth of time every week," I lied. I could probably do more, but I certainly didn't want to. "Why do you even care? You're going to be the next heir, you should prepare yourself for the throne, not train."

"I shouldn't lead if I can't protect my own people," Mo said firmly. "But you—you're strong enough to single-handedly protect all of your people. I need to be more like you. Please, train me. Name any price."

I shifted my weight as a sudden idea came to me.

Madara's tool would be actively against Nebu. All of our potential supporters disliked Nebu and his lawful-good policies, so it would be to our benefit if we were against him. Naasica of Konoha had to support him, which created a bit of an issue. Both sides needed something of Nebu and—

 _Well what if we put someone else in Nebu's place that supported Madara's plans,_ and _Naasica of Konoha?_

A smile curled its way onto my lips as a sort of glee bubbled inside of me.

 _And before me is a kind-hearted, idealistic child... asking for_ my _help._

_For._

_Any._

_Price._

The smile stretched wider and wider on my face and I slowly sauntered towards the boy. "Very well. You will need to come to Konoha for your training sessions, but... yes. I can give you the power you desire, as long as you're willing to take the consequences with it."

Mo beamed. "Thank you, hime! Thank you so much. I will. Nothing is too much for the sake of my people."

"I couldn't agree more. Nothing else matters if it's to protect those we love." If my smile looked a bit twisted no one commented. "Obito, darling, why don't you come out and help me? You remember how I trained you, yes?"

"Oh God. Is the daimyo going to be okay with you mutilating his son?"

"Oh I won't leave any visible damage," I dismissed, giggling. "I know how to hurt someone in just the right way the bruises won't show on the skin. Let's start with a little light blindfolded obstacle course!"

"A-A what?"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The day went back pretty well. Mo passed out a little after lunch and we escorted him to his room to give him rest. I enjoyed a lovely late lunch with Kakashi and Obito back at our room, and then we dined with Nebu and his family (minus Mo) that evening. Nebu and his wife seemed greatly amused by the state I put their son in, while their mistress worriedly asked me questions upon questions about his health after such training.

Then my team returned to our room and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Or so we should have done if not for Rabu's interruption.

I had already changed into my nightdress, and Kakashi was in the middle of braiding my hair for me (because he was the better of the two of us at it) in the center room. Obito sat opposite of me, staring intently at our game of Go. Both boys were dressed in their casual clothes, with only one weapon pouch on each leg.

There was a knock at the door and Obito let out a quiet curse as he got up to answer the door. He cracked it open and asked, "How can we help you, Rabu?"

Rabu's cold voice carried through the door. "I need to speak to Senju-hime in regards to the murders that transpired last night."

"Let him in, Obito." I took a sip of my white rose tea. "Do take a seat, Rabu-kun. However may I assist you?"

Rabu entered the room with a straight back and his previously charming demeanor was gone, replaced by an icy disposition. Obito took his place at my side, and Kakashi paused in braiding my hair, but after another moment he decided to continue on with it. Rabu stiffly sat across from me, where Obito was previously sitting.

Rabu leaned towards me. "I'm sure you've heard about the murders that occurred last night."

I feigned sympathy. "Yes. Truly a horrible thing. Those poor families must be in such pain, it breaks my heart to think about it."

Obito coughed, but didn't react further to that. My teammates knew I didn't give a damn about strangers, and both likely wanted to roll their eyes at my show. But Kakashi and Obito understood that appearances had to be kept up, and my response was appropriate for Naasica of Konoha.

Rabu's lips thinned. "Interesting you should say that. Then perhaps you'd be willing to help me in the matter?"

"Of course. Konoha is always willing to assist the daimyo," I demurred.

"Before I explain how you can help me, I think a little disclosure about myself is necessary," Rabu said quietly, cold eyes raising to meet my gaze.

 _Mn. What lovely vicious eyes,_ I thought. _Those are the eyes of someone who craves righteous violence._

_What would they look like if I popped them out of his head?_

Not that I would, of course. He was not a monster, nor was he an enemy to Madara's plans. I had no reason to kill him, and thus I would not. That didn't stop me from wondering what kind of fight he would put up, or the face he would make as I killed him.

Those kinds of thoughts circled in my head more and more frequently. Madara said they were the thoughts of a veteran; someone so thoroughly drenched in battle and cruelty. No one could come out unscathed after everything I had seen and done, Madara said, and it was to be expected that it would leave its mark on me. He said I was perfectly normal to think those things, and that he too thought those things at times.

As long as I didn't act on them, it didn't matter that I thought them.

Violence without need makes a monster.

Cruelty without need makes a monster.

Since I was the hero I could do neither. A monster couldn't be the hero, after all!

I couldn't help but admire Madara more so when I heard him explain his thoughts. He had those thoughts far longer than I, after all, and had gone that long without indulging any of it. His self-discipline was unparalleled, truly.

What a great master I had.

"You see," Rabu said, "I'm rather above average when it comes to chakra-sensing. As an Uzumaki I already have top-notch sensing capabilities, but mine goes further than that. I can tell exactly what kind of person someone is by feeling their chakra. And you, hime, have the most malicious chakra I have ever met. Frankly being in the same room as you makes me sick."

"That's rather rude," I commented. "Is that why you never came back to the banquet? Being with me for so long made you sick to your stomach?"

He smiled without humor. "Yes. I had to lay down for the rest of the banquet."

"Oh, dear. I'm sorry my chakra made you feel so sick."

"My point, though, is that your signature is very unique," Rabu continued. "And truly, I can't help but wonder... why I felt your signature at each victim's side last night."

_Ho-hum-dee-dum. Is that all? I was rather hoping for a bit more of a twist._

I lazily lifted my shoulders in a shrug. "I haven't the faintest idea. You already said yourself that you had to leave the party last night because you were so sick, and lay down... it seems to me like you had a bad nightmare."

He flushed angrily. "I know when I'm awake and when I'm asleep."

I hummed. "I can't offer you an explanation, because I don't have one. _I_ was asleep in my room all night, which can be verified by everyone in my part. We're all highly respected members in Konoha, so if you truly wish to call us a liar... Surely the daimyo doesn't wish to cause such unnecessary drama so near his son's coronation? Oh, my! Does he even know you're here?"

At Rabu's furious look, I knew I had my answer. I smiled sweetly at him. "I'm so sorry you had a nightmare about my chakra. I'll be sure to keep my distance from you from here on out, okay? But I really can't help you with anything else. Kakashi, Obito, did either of _you_ notice anything strange?"

Both boys shook their head.

Satisfied I turned back to Rabu. "There, see? If you wish to take this further, you'll have to issue a formal inquiry to our Hokage."

And that was that.

There was no way in hell Hiruzen would ever investigate his last Senju; moreover such a valuable assent to Konoha. What did it matter even if I _did_ kill those nobles? They didn't matter to Konoha, and thus didn't matter to Hiruzen. Oh, sure, he'd probably slap my wrist and scold me if found out, but it wasn't like I was butchering children from Konoha, or harming Konoha.

Rabu knew the Hokage wouldn't question me, and the absolute fury and disgust in his face was delightful. I couldn't resist laughing at him. "Honestly, if that's all...?"

"That's all," Rabu spit out. "Good evening, hime."

"Good night, Rabu-kun."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**A brief interlude**

Rabu stood outside the door, feeling his stomach churn. Naasica's chakra was the most disgusting thing he had ever felt; more twisted than any politician or killer found in the whole city. It was like tar, the way it oppressed the air around her. It left a rotten taste in his mouth.

How anyone didn't notice it was beyond Rabu.

Or maybe they did, and they couldn't do anything about it.

She was untouchable. Konoha's treasured princess. Her strength was terrifying, and she displayed a keen diplomatic mind with it. Konoha would fight tooth and nail to protect her, and make her happy.

Worst of all, she already managed to enamour the new daimyo and his family. Nebu was a cold man, but even he couldn't resist falling for her sickeningly sweet smile. It didn't hurt for her to save his family repeatedly, and now with the murders from last night Nebu likely all the more aware of how fortunate he was to have Naasica on his side.

No one would _dare_ fight against her.

Not in the open, at least.

Rabu clenched his fists.

She was an abomination. Rabu knew that like he knew the sky was blue. She should not have been born. Every breath she took was violation against nature itself.

But she was untouchable... for now.

Rabu couldn't do anything to her. Not with his meager amount of evidence, but...

_Someone as disgusting as her had to have left her tainted touch someplace physical. She must have done something else before those murders! Hell, it probably won't the last time she'll want to kill. She's a serial killer ain't she? Her chakra screams psychopath._

She'll strike again, Rabu knew.

And when she did... Rabu would be ready.

She wouldn't be untouchable forever.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter is short because next chapter will wrap up time in the capital, so this is merely a progression set-up. We're nearly done with Part 1, guys! Up next is Akatsuki.
> 
>  **Answer:** Hermione Granger if you don't count her a a dual-protagonist. Otherwise I'd go with Graystripe from Warriors by Erin Hunter.
> 
>  **Question:** Who do you hate as a character?


	23. Red

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง** _**  
**_

_**I see how you're going crazy** _

_**Always thinkin' 'bout me** _

_**Baby on the daily** _

_**Feed me your negativity** _

_**Talk some more about me** _

_**I know that you "love" me** _

_**Monster by Kira** _

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง** _**  
**_

_I love my family._

_I love my clan._

_I would do anything to keep them from feeling pain._

_I am merciful._

_I am kind._

_I will take them away from this wretched world so they will not ever feel pain again._

_I am right._

_I am a hero._

_They will thank me later._

_. . ._

_. ._

_._

Nebu's coronation was held on a beautifully sunny afternoon. The throne room was adorned with gold and red banners, and a very small genjutsu over the ceiling to make it seem like it was constantly raining golden petals. Every human of importance in the Land of Fire was in attendance, and each one dressed up in extravagant and gorgeous kimonos.

It was even more grand than the opening banquet, and the air was suffocatingly prim. Musicians played in perfect harmony at each corner of the massive room, filling it with loud and obnoxious noise. Women fanned themselves and batted eyelashes as the men, who in turn swaggered and smirked as they mingled.

Konoha's delegation would normally be seated somewhere in the middle, but Nebu saw fit to have our group at the front. It was a bold showing of favor, one that his allies and enemies would not miss.

 _Konoha has strong ties with this daimyo,_ it said.

Those wanting to gain favor with the daimyo would be more likely to show support to Konoha by extension. More missions would come our way. More missions meant more money, and more money meant we could go to war again even sooner whenever Nebu desired us to.

That was what Konoha ultimately wanted; the power and wealth that came with victory in war.

Oh sure, officially we would mourn those we lost.

The higher ups behind closed doors, on the other hand, would smile in satisfaction for all we had achieved.

Take this last war. Konoha came out as the greatest victor in that(no small thanks to my utter slaughter fest on the frontlines). Clients would be more likely to turn to us now that we had proven ourselves the better village. We would recover faster than the other villages because of such. We'd honestly be better off now than we were before the war. Now we had an influx of clients clamoring to use us, a surplus of gold and valuables taken from the spoils, additional land we had taken from our enemies, and fewer mouths to worry about for a while.

Not to mention the fame added onto the village.

Fame of winning.

Fame of winning _significantly_.

Fame of having the mokuton at their disposal.

Oh, yes. Konoha came out much better after the war than before it.

I'd honestly be surprised if we didn't go to war again in a decade or so. The only thing that prevented that, likely, was the threat of the Akatsuki. Otherwise I'd be willing to place good money that Naruto's generation ought to have been at war, too.

I stood beside Kanako, holding my tessen loosely in my grip. I wore a golden kimono, as a symbolic show of support for the coronation.

It was uncomfortable, heavy, and hot.

I didn't let any of that show, of course. I was certain Kanako was likely equally uncomfortable in her scandalous—it showed her shoulders—electric blue kimono. We kept smiling, patiently awaiting for the coronation to hurry up and be over with.

I wondered if there would be any more assassination attempts. There had been several throughout the week planned, but I had taken care to go ahead and kill the would-be assassins before they could bother us. Now that everyone knew I was actively protecting Nebu, they would have to adapt their plans. This made them dangerously unpredictable, so it was smarter to simply kill them.

I watched with a perfect smile, and roaming eyes as Nebu slowly moved down his red carpet. All guests turned to watch him, politely bowing in his direction as he passed them. Everything was stiff, formal, and oozed of deception.

A sensation washed over me as he neared the front row; a feeling I only ever got when I was on a mission for Madara, or on the front lines.

At once my back straightened out and I sent out a slight pulse of my chakra into the Zetsu spore hidden in my hair. It formed, first growing a mouth before shaping into an odd flower. Odd in the sense that it had a mouth at the center of it, and its stem intertwined with my hair. It whispered into my ear, drawing upon my chakra to do so. "Above us. Three signatures."

I did not look up.

"Eighteen degrees north."

Nebu slowly approached us. Within the minute he would be directly under his assassins, and that is the most likely time they would strike.

"Jōnin level reserves."

 _Then it's too much of a risk to let them strike and defend,_ I thought.

Without further ado, I raised my right hand—scarcely seconds before Nebu stepped into position—and lashed out with a surge of my chakra. My twisted mokuton tree immediately formed and quickly—too fast for anyone below Chūnin to even see—grew out to cover the entire ceiling, creating an inverted umbrella above Nebu.

Gasps and screams were heard, and I felt the assassins' chakra fluctuate. Explosions sounded against my mokuton prison, and Kakashi and Obito—along with many other guards—immediately leapt up to assist in capturing whatever I had trapped.

I withdrew my hand, leaving behind the wooden ceiling. I fanned myself with my tessen, awarding Nebu with a polite smile.

The soon-to-be daimyo inclined his head.

The priest who was in charge of the whole coronation raised his voice above the startled screams and brief thumps of the battle that was occurring in the wooden ceiling. "Ladies, and gentlemen, please remain calm. Everything is under control. Now, let us be on our way, yes?"

It took a few minutes, but the civilians reigned in their silly emotions. It would have been disgraceful if they continued to lose their composure while their future daimyo remained impeccably calm. They would become the laughing stalk of court for _months_.

Nobles were not allowed to panic, or flee, while their daimyo remained.

Nebu raised his head with an undeniable air of authority and continued his victory walk down the red, red, red carpet.

_Red, red, red. Red like Grandmother. Red like the guts I spilled. Red like Kushina. Red like spider lilies._

Nebu climbed the steps, easily ignoring the battle above him.

He climbed, and climbed.

_Red like Madara-sama's eyes._

Words spilled out of the priest, tumbling out of his mouth like an invisible, oppressive waterfall. Its sound filled the room, washing over many of the sheep like an off-key lullaby.

_Red like war._

Nebu smiled a cold smile.

 _He was not in the original story,_ I recalled, the memory surging forth by some unknown trigger. _He must have died. Yes, that's right. The man who was originally the daimyo—_

My gaze swung forward towards Nebu's third brother, and of course I saw his wife holding onto a cat that could not have been Tora. He smiled a fake smile, and his wife hugged onto the cat tightly. The cat, oddly enough, seemed to adore her attention, and had its head tucked into the crook of her neck.

I returned my focus to the front.

_Red like war._

Nebu's icy smile stretched further across his face in triumph as the priest announced him as the new daimyo.

And I knew.

I realized in that one instant what I had pushed forward to become a new daimyo.

With eyes darker than night, and a smile colder than winter, the man I had protected would undoubtedly become red like me. A man who thirsted for his _righteous_ sense of justice. A man who would do _anything_ for his version of justice.

A man who would become a monster to fight monsters.

The monster was proud of himself, standing tall above everyone and everything. He must have been purring on the inside, for there was a gleam in his eyes and a subtle twitch in his posture.

 _A shame,_ I thought to myself. _All this work for nothing._

I allowed my gaze to slip over towards his son, a shining wanna-be hero, who was brimming with pride.

A smile curled on my lips.

_No. Not for nothing. We need the daimyo support for our plans to go unnoticed, and more importantly, unbothered by Konoha. I cannot allow a monster to lead my country, though, and as long as I secure daimyo support Madara-sama does not care who is in charge._

Mo noticed my gaze and gifted me a brilliant smile, eyes shining with open admiration.

 _What a good hero he will make,_ I thought to myself, looking into his _not red_ eyes. _What a good villain his father will make for him. A proper monster for the hero to slay in the end. Yes, what a lovely story they will make._

I returned Mo's smile with the warmest grin I could fake.

_Red like monsters._

_Red like heroes._

_Red like_ _**me** _ _._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

We did not stay for the after party, as we were not invited. That was exclusive for the royal family and those immediately close to them. After the coronation we left without another word, each of us satisfied another mission was well done.

I would send for Mo when things had settled down. I would mold him to become the perfect puppet, and if that failed I would replace him with Zetsu and use him as an experiment on mind seals.

I couldn't replace Nebu with a Zetsu clone because I had no way of guaranteeing the swap would go unnoticed. Nebu is set in his ways and is intimately known by two dear women. Zetsu would not be able to replicate... parts of Nebu accurately enough not to draw attention. Zetsu could not, after all, procreate.

Mo would be easier to replace, especially if I took the time to learn more about his habits and whatnot.

Though given how easily manipulated and trusting he was, I doubted I would even need to.

Besides, I had to give Nebu time to make enough enemies of the court that Mo's eventual ascension would go smoothly and I won't have to babysit.

(And Nebu, undoubtedly, would make _many_ enemies of the court. That court, and city, is vile and corrupt and Nebu is _obsessed_ with the law.)

He'll tie his own noose.

Hopefully I'll have Mo ready by that time.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I returned to Madara's side that evening, and my master smiled at me as I retold everything that happened at the capital. I mentioned my plans to induct Mo into our service, and replace Nebu with him.

"How fortuitous," Madara mused, "almost as if fate itself is playing a helping hand in our cause. For the heir to be enamored by you already... well done, my dear."

A sincere smile curled my lips, with a slight blush following after it. I bowed my head towards the man I held above all else. "Thank you, Madara-sama."

"Mn. It is good the war is over, though. The Akatsuki have started to make their move, and now would be the ideal time to start integrating them into our cause."

"Of course. What would you have me do, Master?"

"Nagato must believe in our cause, and unlock the Rinnegan. Yahiko will die for this to happen. Zetsu spores have told me that Hanzo is already looking at their cause... What would you do to push him further?"

I reflected on this. "We've already infiltrated Amegakure and replaced several trusted shinobi with Zetsus. I would have them feed on Hanzo's paranoia. Additionally, I would personally approach Nagato's group as you and invite them to our cause. Eventually, I would guess a month, if I ordered the Zetsu's to start whispering in Hanzo's ear today, Hanzo will attack them. I'll need to make sure this attack is in Hanzo's favor. I really only need Nagato to remain alive, so I will have to watch this battle from the shadows. Yahiko, at the minimum, must die in this attack.

"After this, I will personally see to Nagato's recovery and manipulate him to our cause. If he proves unwilling, I will render him unconscious and bring him to you in order to implant a mind-control seal."

Madara inclined his head, awarding me with a tight smile. "Good. Do not start your Hanzo whisper campaign for another month, however. This month you will be... in recovery."

"Master?"

"Are you free to spend the entire night here, Naasica?"

"Yes."

"Lay down on the table, my dear. It is time we moved on to the next start of our training, for I have perfected the required seal."

Without hesitation, I moved towards the stone table off to the side and laid down. Madara approached me slowly, carrying a wooden box. He placed the box beside me, and gently brushed the hair out of my right eye. With a careful touch, he traced the outline of my eye. "I gave Nagato only one of my eyes. Tonight, I will give you the other."

Shock momentarily froze me and left me speechless.

Madara's other eye?

 _I_ would get to hold onto _Madara's eye_?

 _I_ would be entrusted with such a vital treasure?

He trusted me _that much_?

I wanted to speak, I wanted to thank him for this blessing, but only squeaks came out of me. He smiled kindly at me, closing my mouth. He pulled out a glass jar filled with preservative jelly and in the center floated a perfect Rinnegan.

Madara spoke quietly, "I could not give this to you until I could properly hide it. I have perfected a genjutsu seal that I will trace on your inner eyelid, and it will conceal the Rinnegan. No one will be able to notice that your real eye is gone. You will, of course, be able to temporarily dispel the genjutsu when you act as me. Using the eye will not dispel it, though, so feel free to use it as Naasica, too."

Madara moved his hand up to my forehead. "Now go to sleep. When you awake, you will see the world through _my_ eyes."

His chakra washed over me like a heavy warm blanket and lulled me into a dreamless slumber.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I opened my eyes and immediately felt a sharp dizziness shoot through me as I tried to focus. There was a stark contrast between my two eyes.

I did not have poor vision, but in comparison to seeing through Madara's eye I might as well have been squinting my whole life.

My body weighed heavily, and I purged the last bit of Madara's comforting chakra out of me. Madara himself was seated beside me, assessing me with Sharingan eyes that did not belong to him. "How do you feel?"

"Nauseas," I admitted.

"That will pass. Keep the eye on for as long as you can, and as often as you can. The sooner you get used to its effects, the sooner we can move on."

"Yes, Master."

"Go home. Play sick. Rest. Do _not_ take another mission for the week, and do _not_ train heavily."

Bowing I whispered, "Yes, Master."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Early the next morning I moved slowly.

Kushina and Minato had not been home when we returned from the mission—granted our team did not reach Konoha until well into the night—but had instead left a note saying they were out on their own mission and would be gone for a while. It meant that Kakashi and I would have complete run of the place for the time being.

Kakashi immediately went to take a shower and rest, and I made a clone to feign sleep while I went to Madara's.

I had returned around nine hundred hours and swapped the clone out for myself.

Now noon—so I supposed it was no longer morning—I forced myself to get out of bed and start my morning ritual.

Madara's eye was going to be hard to adjust to. He had done a perfect transplant (not that there was any doubt in such a feat. He had already demonstrated himself more than adapt when he did a successful eye transplant on an infant) so the Sharingan could be activated or deactivated at my will. I could feel the intricate genjutsu over it to keep it hidden—and Madara's seals were truly a masterclass because I doubt anyone would ever notice the exceedingly "small" genjutsu—and I instinctively knew how to deactivate it and reactivate it at will.

I resisted the urge to shut my right eye.

Perfect transplant or not the Sharingan was a _stark_ difference from what I was used to. It was a good thing I would be able to request some time off after such an important mission since I would undoubtedly need some time to adjust.

 _I should go ahead and submit my request for some vacation time,_ I thought to myself, slowly getting dressed. _What should I put for reason?_

I recalled the fact that I was now technically Head of Senju.

 _I'll request time off to orient myself with the Council Laws and the responsibilities of being a Head of Clan,_ I thought. _Yes. That makes sense. It's something that needs to be done regardless, and now with the war over this will be a good time to do so._

As I brushed through my hair—I decided not to cut it and keep it long like Madara's—I headed down the stairs. Kakashi sat at the kitchen table, drinking some peach and ginger smelling tea. He glanced up at my arrival and offered a small nod. "Get enough rest?"

"For now," I admitted. "I'm going to request some time off, actually."

That got a raised eyebrow.

"I need to get caught up on the Clan Laws and being a member of the Council," I elaborated. "I'd rather do it without interruption, so I'll request some vacation time."

Kakashi took another sip of his tea, nodding his head thoughtfully. "Makes sense. How long will be you be off?"

"Perhaps a week. That should give me enough time to become adjusted," I answered honestly. "Who knows? I might even have enough time to further my studies in fūinjutsu."

"I was thinking about picking that up," Kakashi commented. "What do you think?"

"You would be good at it. You're meticulous," I immediately responded. "I still have my beginner notes if you want to look over them. They're in my room if you want to dig them up."

Another sip of tea. "I'll look for them, thanks. Do you want me to make you breakfast?"

"I'm going to go ahead and put in my request for vacation, but when I come back I'd like breakfast," I said, smiling at my dear friend. "Have you already eaten?"

"No. I'll wait for your return, then."

"Catch you later."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I returned to my room, satisfied. Not only did I get my vacation time without a fuss, but the Hokage had all too happily prepared a copy of the Council rules, Clan Laws, and a whole bunch of other legislative paperwork for me to peruse through. There would even be a Council meeting in a few days that I would be allowed to attend as the proper Senju Head.

Upon entering my room I found Kakashi kneeling in front of my bed staring down at an open box with a blank expression.

I realized that the box was the stuff Kushina had gotten for me after puberty hit.

He looked up at me, expression carefully blank (ignoring the bright redness of his cheeks.)

"I hope you realize I have to kill you now," I warned him, perfectly serious.

"It would be a better alternative than keeping these memories," he responded pleasantly. "Kushina?"

"She gave them to me a while back. Forgot all about them to be honest," I admitted, staring down at the box with no amount of hidden disgust.

"Want me to throw them out?"

"Nah. It's a great way to protect my room."

"Come again?"

"Well," I began, "if someone comes snooping around my room they'll obviously find the box. I don't have it very well hidden, but it's hidden _enough_ to know I don't want it to be easily seen. So then of course they're going to open it, and when they do—well, I'm willing to bet they won't be able to look me in the eye for _at least_ a few hours."

"Then you'll know they were in your room," Kakashi concluded. "It would definitely work against Obito."

"Just imagining his horrified face makes me smile."

That got a chuckle out of my childhood friend. "Come on, let's go make some breakfast. Need any help with the paperwork?"

"I think I can manage," I said with a smile. "Thank you, though."

"What are friends for?" Kakashi returned, placing the box back underneath my bed and heading out of the room.

 _Kakashi is silver and blue_ , I thought to myself, watching him for a moment. _Not a trace of red on him._

As Kakashi and I entered the kitchen and started breakfast, the front door swung open with a big bang.

Kushina sprinted into the room, red-faced and eyes gleaming like the sun. "GUESS WHAT?!"

Minato appeared right behind her, lightly blushing and scratching the back of his head.

Kakashi asked her, "What?"

"We're going to get married, dattebane!"

I smiled at Kushina, the woman who I loved like another mother. My smile was bright, and warm, as I had practiced making for many years now.

I smiled even as I felt my stomach drop, and a cold sensation wash over me.

Because I knew what awaited at the end of her marriage.

And I knew what that would mean for me.

For us.

Naruto was coming.

"I'm so happy for you," I lied. "I wish you both nothing but joy."

I lied. I lied. I lied.

I'm a liar.

Lying.

I'm lying.

I don't want you to get married.

I don't want you to have Naruto.

You're going to leave me.

_You're going to abandon me._

**I** won't let you.

**I won't let you.**

**I**

**Won't**

**Let**

**You**

**Go**

( _ple_ _ **a**_ _se do_ _ **n**_ ' _t make_ _ **me**_ _do it)_

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are **love**!


	24. Owari

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

_**Funny how you think I'm bothered** _

_**Know I'm nothing like the others** _

_**You shouldn't have messed with me** _

' _ **cause I heard you were afraid of**_

_**Monsters** _

_**Are you ready for the Monster?** _

_**Monster by Kira** _

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I

I

I st

I no

I NO

I sto

I

I NONONO

I **stopitstopstopit**

I **NoNoNoNoNoNoNo**

Sto **pp** ed.

Owari, Madara's right hand, slipped on his mask and tightened his gloves. I, no, no, no, Naasica, slipped away inside of his mind like a distant thought. She hovered in the back of it, always aware, always watching, but no longer interfering.

Owari pulled the hood over him, activating the seal-genjutsu that was drawn inside of it. The end of the hood stuck to the top of Owari's mask, firmly keeping it in place. His mask, white as the ghosts he avenged, with eyes as red as war, acted as a good gas mask, as well. It would filter out the worst of the offenders he would have to breathe in while he worked.

His hood, black as his heart, was part of his cloak that ended at his tailbone. Long cloaks did not offer enough maneuverability for him to work.

He kept the standard black pants, and the standard black boots. He had a red, red, red shirt that was mostly covered by his black cloak.

When the Akatsuki was done he would add a red cloud to the back of his cloak.

Madara watched Owari finish getting ready before smiling at him. " _Owari_. A good name, for our cause. _The End_."

"That is what we are, Master," Owari answered. The mask turned Naasica's voice into Owari's, making it deep and soft.

"Go, then, Owari. It is time the _real_ Akatsuki was born."

Owari bowed to Madara, before he slipped away into the night.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The three grown orphans stood in the cave, huddling around a fire.

Owari approached them, not bothering to hide his presence. "Good evening."  
Nagato's one Rinnegan eye turned to look at him, while his other eye remained hidden by hair. Konan and Yahiko both narrowed their gaze as Owari approached.

"Can we help you?" Yahiko asked.

"Yes," Owari answered. "My name is Owari. You," Owari raised a finger and pointed towards Nagato, "and I are destined to save this world."

"Come again?" Yahiko asked with a raised eyebrow.

Owari's rinnegan came to life, and all three of them stared at him with wide eyes.

"That's just like my eye!" Nagato blurted out. "You—You know about this?"  
"It's called the rinnegan, my brother," Owari said. "It is the eye of the Sage of Six Paths. You and I were born to work together to save this world. We are the reincarnation of his sons, Uzumaki Nagato. I have been searching for you all my life, and now... at last... I have found you, my brother."

"Brother—?"

"Who are you really?" Yahiko demanded, his expression conflicted.

"A lost soul who has seen too much war and wishes for it all to end," Owari answered. "Your eye... it remains dormant. You have yet to see true pain, then, my brother. You will, though. It is our curse. We must suffer through pain before we are blessed with the vision. When you are ready to save the world come find me... I will be at the tree with leaves the color of war."

Owari left, then, his seed planted.

 _Now I must make them suffer,_ he thought to himself. _Now I must break them in order to rebuild them._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Zetsu whispered in Hanzo's ears.

( _listenlistenlistenlistenlisten_ )

Owari sabotaged villagers. He took on different forms, playing both sides to this quiet civil war. The true war of the nations was over, but still they squabbled in Amegakure's land because _money, money, money_.

He skinned humans. He placed their skins on the road for the Akatsuki to see.

(Konan cried.)

He snapped the necks of children. He placed them on the road for the Akatsuki to see.

(Yahiko cried.)

He mutilated adults. He placed their twisted corpses on the road for the Akatsuki to see.

(Nagato cried.)

He burned villages while dressed as Hanzo's men.

(They wept.)

He slaughtered so, so many, it all started to blur.

(It wasn't enough to break them, yet.)

Naasica had to intervene a few times to return to Konoha.

Naasica had to play the role of a happy daughter, even while she cried tears of pain, hatred, and **self-loathing**.

Owari watched as their group started to form.

Owari smiled behind his mask of ghosts.

 _So lovely,_ Owari thought, _so sweet. So innocent. So very, very, very, not red._

It must be red.

Owari would paint the world red.

_Red like Kushina._

_Red like Grandmother._

_Red like_ _**me** _ _._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Naasica sang the back of his head. She sang of sunshines and joy. She sang of, and warmth.

Owari gave Hanzo more rumors to fear.

Hanzo, in a fit of fear, killed his heir to the Salamander Contract and hid it. Owari watched him bury it in a cave.

Danzo started to approach Hanzo after that, using his own broken tools.

Owari snapped their necks after they were done reporting.

Neither he, nor Naasica, liked Danzo and his tools. He wished he could snap Danzo's neck.

No, no, he wished he could spill Danzo's guts out on that expensive rug in his rich home.

But Madara said _no_ because Danzo was to play a bigger role.

Danzo would die, but not for another six years.

Owari and Naasica could wait.

It would be a death worth savoring.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The Akatsuki was growing bigger.

Hanzo was scared.

Danzo was scheming.

It was almost time.

 _Three months_ it took.

Three months before Owari would **bReAk** them and **FiX** them.

Break and fix like Madara and Naasica.

Broken boy, broken girl.

All built back up. Stronger because of the breaks. Wiser because of the shatter.

Owari hoped they would remember to thank Owari for all he had done.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Naasica struck Tsunade's name out from her clan. Tsunade no longer had the right to hold the surname of Senju.

Kakashi and Obito stood beside her when she did so.

Kushina pleaded with her not to, asking the girl she loved like a daughter to give the Sannin forgiveness.

Naasica refused.

Owari took back over, and on and on the crusade went.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

It was time for them to break.

Owari watched in the shadows. He killed the Akatsuki messenger boy before he could warn them of the trap Hanzo had set for them.

Yahiko died.

Nagato broke.

Konan screamed.

And the red, red, red filled the air.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The two of them came to him, and he patiently waited for them under that red-leafed tree that he grew.

The leaves always turned red when Owari used the mokuton, and the bark darkened to a sickly black.

"This world is rotten," Nagato whispered, tears in his eyes. "How can we save it?"

"You have experienced true pain, brother," Owari said, opening his arms. "This breaks my heart as much as it fills me with hope. Now you see it, _brother_ , how awful this world is. You know now we must save it."

"What do we do?" Konan asked. "How can we—how can we save the world?"

"It will take time, sister," Owari said, "but such is expected when we're saving all of humanity. First, we must gather powerful followers. Second, we will take every bijū and awaken the ultimate weapon: the jūbi."

"Weapon? I don't want anymore war—"

"Neither do I," Owari said, pain in his voice. "I never, _ever_ want to see another dead child lying there on the street. Listen to me, my siblings of peace, listen to my plan entirely and you will understand."

They listened.

They understood.

The true Akatsuki was formed.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Obito's mother caught a cold that didn't go away.

Naasica and Kakashi held him when he cried.

He moved in with them, just as Kushina and Minato moved out.

Naasica, Kakashi, and Obito, lived together in that small little home.

They were happy, though.

When any of them felt like it was too much, the others would turn to comfort.

They were survivors of war.

Now they had to survive living.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Nagato was meticulous.

He cleaned up Hanzo's mess. He killed those in the way.

Owari was more thorough. He knew how dangerous it was for Danzo to get any information out of Amegakure. He set up Zetsu spores all along the border lines.

He burned Danzo's men, chopped up their bodies, and sent them back to the warmonger with picture of a smiling face on top.

Danzo sent more men.

Owari only sent back their skins that time.

Nagato took control of Amegakure.

Owari ended the civil war. No one could enter these lands without his, or Nagato's knowing.

It was still weak, though. The people were sickly, tired, and weak.

Owari stole supplies from the wealthy and gave back to them. They praised him like he was an angel. He made Konan and Nagato deliver these supplies. He made Konan and Nagato repair the broken buildings and homes beside these people.

The people loved them. The people praised them.

Owari kidnapped some doctors and their families. He broke their minds to obey him. He sent them out into Amegakure to heal the sick and strengthen everyone else.

Konan gathered up the orphans and taught them how to fight.

Everyone had to know how to fight.

Everyone had to be strong now.

Everyone had to sing praises of the two angels, and the _god_ that was Pein.

Angel of white, Konan, who was as beautiful as she was kind.

Angel of black, Owari, who was as fierce as he was protective.

They would keep Amegakure safe, the people believed.

And they would.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Kushina's belly was getting bigger.

Madara told Naasica to have Mo request her back at the capital on time for Kushina's birth.

Naasica snuck away to the capital and told Mo she needed a cover that night. The love-struck idealist agreed without hesitation in exchange she trained him that week.

Every night Naasica teleported back to the capital and trained Mo in secret.

She whispered sweet things in his ear.

She learned about his secrets.

She learned about his weaknesses.

She planted seeds of devotion in his head.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Owari kept Amegakure safe while Konan and Nagato healed it. He kept the prying eyes of the nation away from it, by planting false information in spy networks and snapping the necks of those who knew too much.

Eventually Amegakure was left alone, and the Akatsuki could take its first small step.

With that being taken care of Owari turned to Kirigakure.

 _Two years,_ Owari thought, _and I will take Kirigakure._

He left Kirigakure alone until then.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

It was time.

**Red like Kushina.**

Owari and Naasica returned to Madara's side one week before Kushina was due.

"For what you have to do," Madara began, his voice a soft whisper, "is something that may break you for a while."

Owari raised his head. "Master?"

"Naasica," Madara addressed, "I know how hard this will be for you. After everything we've sacrificed, and done, I must now ask of you to sacrifice again."

"Master?" I whispered.

"She is your light," he said, "I know this. But now it is time for you to surrender her, and accept the dark entirely. We need Naruto to be the vessel. We need the Uchiha to be held responsible for her death. We need her to die, my dear Naasica."

Words failed me.

Owari said, "Yes, Master."

"Take your time after this sacrifice," he told us. "Zetsu will monitor the Akatsuki for us while you heal. Repair your heart, and steel it. After this sacrifice... everything will come with much more ease, I promise you."

"Yes, Master."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** While I adore the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy, I abhor the main character. I liked her in the first few books, but she turns into... someone rather dislikable after certain events transpire.
> 
>  **Question:** What story would you want to be the main protagonist in? Like, would you want to be your own Harry in Harry Potter, or perhaps Sailor Moon in Sailor Moon?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	25. Sacrifice

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง** _**  
**_

_**I'm just being me.** _

_**Cut out the things that I don't need** _

_**Don't care if you disagree, I don't need your sympathy** _

_**Winning this game on my own** _

_**Monster by Kira** _

  
**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง** ]

I kissed Kushina's cheek. "Take care, okay? Don't have him until I get back."

Kushina smiled adoringly at me, brushing back a strand of my hair. "I wish you could stay."

"We can't refuse a request from the daimyo, and given that your condition is meant to be a secret," Minato trailed off. "There's no public reason to refuse."

"Don't worry, Nee-chan," I soothed her, reaching over and carefully patting her soft cheek. "Everything will be okay in the end."

Her smile softened as she patted her round stomach. Her eyes were filled with love when she looked down at Naruto. "You're right."

_She's sunlight embodied._

"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on her," Obito said with a big grin.

"It'd be easier if we were allowed on her guard service," Kakashi muttered, glancing over at Minato.

Minato frowned. "We don't want to draw attention to this. Your entire team is well known to be Konoha's best. If we had you on guard duty for Kushina—"

"Everyone would immediately have their eyes on her, we know," Kakashi cut in. "That's why if you let us into ANBU—"

"Absolutely not," Minato denied. "You three have been put through enough from the war, and seeing how all three of you refuse to see a therapist—"

"We don't need one," we said as one.

"It's a requirement to be in ANBU to pass your psych evaluations and receive regular visits," Minato repeated for the millionth time when Kakashi brought up ANBU.

"The day I go to therapy is the day Kushina dyes her hair black," I bit out.

Minato sighed while Kushina giggled. I smiled one more time at her, taking in the moment of seeing her so happy and alive.

 _You're so beautiful,_ I thought with fondness. _So filled with life, and hope. Our precious jinchūriki, so you were kept untouched by the war and the horrors it holds. You should not be so red._

_I'm sorry I have to make you redder._

"I need to head out now. I'll be back as soon as I can," I promised them.

_Goodbye, dear sister._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

My eye gleamed in the darkness, and I landed lightly on the water. The ANBU immediately noticed me, one of them even stepping towards me in a warning. I opened my right eye, Madara's Sharingan coming to life, and I moved towards the ANBU.

A smile crawled its way on my face, as I felt the thrill of adrenaline begin to run inside of me. The task itself wasn't a particularly pleasing task—most certainly not—but the prospect of battle, the high risk scenario, and the idea that this was the first _big_ step to that perfect world appealed greatly to me.

Kushina would die tonight, I knew that.

As Senju Naasica, her adopted daughter, I mourned her.

As Owari, Madara's tool, I didn't care.

It was such an odd thing—these two stark, and conflicting emotions. They split me right down the middle. There was no turmoil or strife in where they were; they simply existed beside each other. They were accepted feelings.

Besides, she wouldn't _really_ die. She would just be... going away. I would see her again, in that Eternal Dream, and she would thank me. Why? Because I would have had a hand in creating the perfect world. _Madara-sama's_ world. There would be no violence or pain in that world. It would be a true utopia—and isn't that what she would want? Wouldn't she want such a world for her son?

Of course she would. Any mother would.

So while I mourned the fact that I would not see her for a while, I knew it was just for a while.

She and Grandmother would just have to enjoy their little vacation from this hell, and be patient.

_Murderer._

I largely ignored the voice, and the part of me that screamed in guilt at me. My hands clenched into fists, and I prowled towards the ANBU. I raised my gaze to meet their own, and the second their eyes met Madara's Sharingan, I brought them into Tsukiyomi.

 _Monster,_ a voice whispered to me in my ear.

I—I—I ignored it.

Owari resumed control.

He thought it would be best. Naasica had to be prepared for what came afterwards.

Owari slipped into the cavern, placing a high-level genjutsu over himself to stay hidden. If Minato was more focused on his surroundings, rather than his wife in labor, he probably would have noticed the genjutsu take hold.

Unfortunately for him, he did not.

Owari climbed up onto the ceiling, watching Kushina scream and writhe in pain.

He hated to see her in pain. He wished he could snap her neck and let her suffering be over with. She could sleep and dream away in wonderland while he fixed the world up. Then he'd bring her back and they could all _finally_ live happily together. No more war and no more red. Children could play in the streets without worry of predators. Parents would no longer outlive their children. Friends and family would always come back home.

No more hunger.

No more pain.

A true utopia.

It would be glorious.

Owari longed for it to come true with every fiber of his being. He wished for it so dearly that it physically pained him that it was not yet a reality.

 _Soon,_ Owari consoled himself.

" _Murderer_ ," a voice whispered in his ear. " _Monster_."

Owari shoved those voices aside, even as Naasica cowed underneath their familiarity.

Naruto greeted the world with a brilliant wail. Kushina let out a tight sigh, and Sarutobi's wife brought Naruto over to clean and dry him.

Owari _moved_ when Minato turned his back on his son to kiss his wife's forehead. A quick slash in the throat and the matron went down, and within another two seconds the others fell. Naruto was in Owari's arms, and Minato's entire attention fell on the masked man.

" _Naruto!_ " Kushina screamed in horror, tears in her eyes.

Electric blue eyes turned colder than ice as Minato snarled out, "You! Who are you?"

Owari held Naruto in his arms, bouncing the infant carefully, slipping in some timed explosive notes. "Speak carefully, Hokage. Your son's life depends on your next words."

"What do you want?" Minato demanded.

"Your attention," Owari answered, calling forth Madara's eye.

Minato was immediately caught off guard to see a perfect Sharingan glare behind the mask. In fact, he was so surprised that he was not able to look away within the half second it took for Owari to ensnare him with Madara's eye. The genjutsu was nothing terribly intricate, but it disoriented the user and momentarily froze them for a solid five seconds.

Five seconds was all Owari needed.

He tossed Naruto up in the air, knowing Minato would immediately focus on Naruto's descent. By the time Minato was unfrozen—and launching towards Naruto—Owari had a firm grip on Kushina and pulled her down into the roots below. He made sure to tell his tree roots to disintegrate behind him, to prevent Minato from suspecting his teleportation was through mokuton.

He pulled Kushina out of the ground only a kilometer away from the village and immediately broke her arms and legs. She screamed in pain, her face plastered in sweat as she breathed heavily. "What—What are you after?"

Owari dragged her towards the center of the sealing circle Madara had set up years ago.

"You will not suffer for long," Owari whispered to her, reaching down to affectionately touch her cheek. She snapped her head away from his hand, glaring hatefully.

Owari did not mind. She didn't understand.

 _If she knew, she would be hugging and thanking me,_ Owari told himself. Owari shook his head, thinking it was a pity he was not allowed to tell her. Madara gave him explicit orders not to reveal their plan.

Owari clapped his hands together, releasing his chakra in a burst. The seals around the two of them lit up a dull red and began to encircle Kushina. They dug into her stomach, ripping apart the seal that kept Kurama at bay. The kyūbi let out a howl of approval as his seal became undone. Owari, with Madara's eye, looked deep into Kushina's seal and forced his will upon Kurama.

_Attack the village._

That was the only order Owari thought to give Kurama before he ripped the tailed beast out and bound him to a summoning contract.

The red lines of the seal that had destroyed Kushina's seal dug into Kurama's chest, but the kyūbi paid them no mind.

Kushina, panting, stared up in horror at the kyūbi.

Owari reached down towards her. "Sweet dreams, dear sister."

Kushina's eyes widened in revulsion before Owari snapped her neck.

Minato arrived, just as Owari vanished.

He was glad he didn't linger long enough to see Minato's grief-stricken face. Naasica might have started crying if they had to see that.

Into the heart of Konoha Owari appeared.

Into the heart of Konoha Owari released Kurama.

And Konoha saw red, red, red.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I stood at the edge of the village, dressed as though I had only recently been at the capital. As far as the village was aware of their precious Senju Leader had left for the capital a week ago and would not be expected until tomorrow.

 _But won't they be so happy I come back right as the kyūbi emerges?_ I thought to myself, sweeping my long hair up into a bun. _I must seal the kyūbi into Naruto with Madara's seal. If I do this then Minato is allowed to live._

The thought made me happy. I had to sacrifice Kushina for the cause, but Madara granted me the knowledge of a different seal that could be used on on Naruto. It would be powerful enough to keep Kurama at bay, and still allow Naruto access to parts of the kyūbi's chakra like Minato wanted. However, Kurama would be kept in a peaceful meadow, lured into a deep slumber that he would not ever awake from.

(painless)

_No way for him to tell Naruto what happens tonight. No way for Naruto to befriend him. No way for either of them to realize their full potential. Yet Naruto will still have access to parts of the kyūbi's chakra, so when Madara returns to full power he can have a little fun before we save the world. Naruto will make a great obstacle for Madara-sama, I bet._

I took a step towards the village, but I felt cold fingers claw at my throat. I gasped in surprise, my eyes widening in disbelief as I clutched at my throat.

There were no fingers there, but for a brief moment I could have sworn something had grabbed onto me.

Heavy ice settled over my heart, causing a small ache in my chest every time I breathed in.

 _Stop it,_ I told myself. _Stop feeling this way. You aren't grieving her. She'll come back to us. She'll come back. So stop this!_

I slapped myself hard, wanting desperately to clear away the icicles that decorated my insides. They rattled, but they would not leave me.

 _Fine,_ I thought stubborn. _Fine! Madara-sama said it would go away—so—so I can deal with this._

I gritted my teeth before I took off towards the village.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

It was nice to see so many of my fellow comrades work together to bring Kurama down.

It was even nicer to hear them cry out in joy when they saw my trees wrap around the kyūbi and force it to kneel.

Kurama was powerful—undoubtedly—but between my Sharingan eye and mokuton, I was able to force him to play calm. I kept him snarling, certainly, but the threat was largely neutralized. Hiruzen was beside me within the first minute I had Kurama pinned, and he looked down at my trembling—from the chakra exertion it took to bind Kurama earlier, on top of the yin-heavy mokuton chakra I was currently using to keep Kurama at bay—and asked me, "How long?"

"Half an hour, max. I know a way to seal him, but I need—" I bit my lip, as a shot of fatigue raced through me. Owari had used too much chakra when he bound Kurama to him, and Madara's Sharingan still took a heavy toll on me. "I need Kushina, or, or her son."

Minato appeared not even a moment after I said that, carrying Kushina' s—

Kushina—

Carrying her—

Tears of grief pricked at my eyes. It was—It was so much more _different_ seeing her through my own eyes. I had watched Owari break her bones, rip Kurama out from her, then snap her neck. I knew what he had done, but I had not—-I had not truly let it—it was like watching from a distance. I was detached as Owari, but here and now looking at her—

I bit down hard on my lip to keep from crying out as the wave of pain hit me. My once beautiful sister, so full of life, laid completely broken, bloody, and pale in Minato's arms. Her arms and legs were bent at awkward angles, and her face was forever twisted into that of pain and unimaginable grief. Guilt briefly— _briefly_ —made me waver, but Owari snatched it away from me.

Guilt he could take, as he was the one who committed the act.

Pain, though?

Pain was on me.

"Oh, _Kushina_ ," Hiruzen breathed out, eyes dark with pain. "Minato—Minato I'm so sorry—"

"Don't," Minato rasped out, cold eyes looking up at the kyūbi. "Spare me the apologies. Naasica, you said—you said you could seal the kyūbi?"

"I need Naruto," I whispered, my heart falling into pieces. "I know—I know the perfect seal."

"I know of a way, as well. If you're going to sacrifice—"

"No sacrifices need to be made for this seal," I whispered, my eyes glued to Kushina's agonized face. "No more sacrifices need to be made tonight."

Hiruzen held out his arms to Minato, and Minato hesitated only briefly before placing the corpse of his wife in them. He was gone in a flash of yellow before returning with an infant Naruto.

"Hold him," I whispered, ignoring how I could taste salt. "This will only take a moment."

Minato held Naruto out towards me, I began the thirty-two hand seals to initiate the sealing process. I ended up having to draw upon one of Madara's seals in order to generate enough chakra to complete the sealing. Naruto screamed as I forced Kurama inside his heart chakra gate. Kurama let out a low snort before he fell into a peaceful slumber.

I locked the gate shut, and the sealing was done.

I fell to my knees from the severe loss of chakra, sweat and tears pouring down my face. Naruto cried, and cried, and Minato scooped him back up into his arms. "Hiruzen... we're still in a state of emergency. Set up the patrols and coordinate repair efforts. ANBU Koi, take Naasica to the hospital and have Obito and Kakashi guard her. Keep an eye out for any masked men that approach her."

ANBU Koi came to my side, easily lifting me into her arms. With a quiet _yes sir_ , she took me away.

I closed my eyes, allowing my body to sag.

_The night is over. The sacrifice has been made. Kushina is no longer red—_

The image of her body flashed in my mind, and a pain so cold and fierce cut deep inside of me.

Owari lulled me into a dreamless sleep.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I awoke in a small hospital room with Kakashi and Obito on either side of me. The light outside the window told me it was noon the following day.

I licked my dry lips and turned my head towards Kakashi. "Kashi?"

"Hey," Kakashi greeted me, his eyes conveying a sense of deep tiredness no boy should ever have. "Okay?"

"I'm okay," I whispered, slowly sitting up and looking over at Obito. My friend awarded me a tight smile. "Okay?"

"We're okay," Obito reassured me. "Do you—do you remember everything that happened?"

_Her neck snapped like a branch in his hands._

"Yes," I croaked, tears falling out of my eyes. "Kushina—" I buried my face in my hands. " _Oh, Kushina._ I'm so—I'm so sorry. I wish it had not been you. Why couldn't _I_ have been—"

"Stop," Kakashi cut in, sitting on the hospital bed and pulling me into a tight hug. I buried my face against my friend's chest, my body trembling from a chill that would never leave me. "You can't think like that. You had no way—you had no way of knowing."

"Why doesn't it get easier?" I whispered as I felt Obito sit down beside us. The Uchiha placed a warm hand against my back, rubbing up and down. "It's supposed to be easy! I'm doing—I've always done what I thought was right. Wh-Why—? Why is—why is this so hard?"

"Doing the right thing and the easy thing is rarely the same," Obito told me. "You had to go to the capital. It _was_ the right thing to do at the time. You had no way to know what would happen. None of us did."

"I don't want to be alone anymore," I whispered, my voice breaking. "They always leave me."

"You're not alone," Kakashi disagreed.

"We're here," Obito said, leaning into me. "We're right here."

"We'll get through this."

"We've survived war and worse," Obito said softly.

"We can survive living."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Minato came to the hospital room, pale, ragged, and with painfully cold eyes. He looked over at the three of us on the hospital bed and said with a quiet voice, "If you can move, the village needs help with repairs. Naa-chan—I need you to explain a bit more about Naruto's seal. I think I have a good grasp on it."

"I found Grandmother's notes for a revised seal a couple years ago and I've been toying with it in my off time. I was planning on t-talking with Nee-chan about it, but the moment never seemed right. I-I didn't realize there would be an urgency to it," I lied, reciting the story out of habit. "I, I can give you my drawings and notes."

"That would be appreciated," he answered. "Did you keep them in the blood safe?"

"Yes."

"Good. The—The house was hit in the attack."

The three of us stirred at that information, digesting it. Minato's face screwed up. "I'll be in the Hokage's office if you need me. Help the village first, though."

When he left, an invisible blanket of snow wrapped around me. I shivered.

_He's broken._

_I'm broken._

I felt that I ought to report to Madara. I ought to get up and head away. Excuse myself and slip away into the sweet darkness.

I didn't.

I couldn't.

I _couldn't_.

"I need to see her," I whispered. "One last time. Do you—do either of you know where she is?"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

There could be no funeral for the jinchūriki that lost her captive. Minato had her body destroyed within the hour to prevent any spy from stealing Konoha's precious sealing secrets. With the village being as weak as it was, and that "unknown" assailant still active Minato could not take the risk. So her body was destroyed and he scratched her name on a little stone marker instead.

The stone was kept in the Senju graveyard, directly next to Grandmother's. There were a few blank stones around her that would have been used for myself, any of Kushina's children, and Minato when our time came.

That time was not now, though, so Kushina's marker stood alone.

Kakashi and Obito helped me to her grave, then they gave me five minutes alone with her.

Five minutes of fervent whispers of _I'm sorry_.

Owari offered to resume control, in that split second I hated him for it.

"Enough," I whispered to Owari, tears streaming down my face. " _Enough_. I cannot—I need—"

Owari whispered to me, "It can wait. The world can wait. You have already done so much, sister of mine. _It can wait_."

I fell beside her grave, weeping.

For now, our plans had to wait.

I couldn't be the proper hero if my heart was too shattered that each breath _pained_ me. Like a ball of icicles jutting out on all ends, stabbing into my lungs.

"He knows it can wait," Owari soothed me. "Let it _wait_."

I mourned her, my light.

The woman who loved me above all else, and who I undeniably adored.

I mourned my light, some primal part of me desperately wishing I could stay in the light.

But the darkness was already calling me into its embrace.

Light would never survive in this awful, awful world.

Why did I believe for a second I could keep mine?

My sobs turned into wails of grief.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"I'm just going to come out and say it," I said, looking in between Obito and Kakashi once I had calmed down. "I think we should all move in to the Senju compound... with Minato-sensei and Naruto."

The two boys slowly looked up at that.

"Look," I said quickly, my stomach churning, "I know that it's sudden, and—but I think Minato-sensei needs us. Especially—Kushina can't take care of Naruto now, and Minato-sensei... I don't think he can, either. Not now. And—and I don't—I don't think _I_ can do it alone, either, but—"

Why was this so hard?

I could lie. I could manipulate.

I was the perfect tool.

Now, I could barely get through this argument without stumbling, or croaking.

I would see her again.

I would see her again.

_I would see her again._

So why did it hurt so much?

Why was it **so** hard?

I didn't even—I didn't even have to do this. Moving in with Minato? Taking care of Naruto? None of that was part of the plan.

It wouldn't _hurt_ the plan, but it wasn't something Madara told me to do.

Who cared what happened? Kushina would come back after we won. She could raise Naruto with Minato, then. So what did it matter what happened _now_?

Why was I bringing this up?

Why was I crying _again_?

I wiped at my tears, hating my blatant display of weakness, and trying desperately to shove those stupid feelings of guilt and grief away.

_I have nothing to feel guilty for._

Yes, yes.

Nothing.

Nothing.

**Nothing.**

"Okay," Obito whispered, his eyes red and puffy. He reached across to grab my hand and the measure of comfort I took in that tiny, stupid, unnecessary gesture, was greater than I would ever admit to.

Kakashi bowed his head and pressed his forehead against my shoulder, and a shudder of pain and— _comfort? What?_ —ran through me. I instinctively rested my head on top of Kakashi's, and my other hand found his own.

"Okay," Kakashi said quietly, his hand trembling in my own.

"Okay," I echoed.

And the three of us cried for the last time that night.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I slipped into Minato's office, and the grieving widow barely looked up. His face crumpled when he saw me—because he _could_ show weakness to me, because I was his family. I was _her_ daughter. I was _his_ daughter—and he bowed his head. " _Naa_ - _chan_..."

"Sensei," I whispered, and my eyes moved over towards Naruto, who was sleeping in his crib. "Sensei, I need—Sensei, you and Naruto should live with us."

He looked up at that, confusion flickering over his face. "What?"

"Obito, Kakashi, and I... we're going to move into the Senju compound. You and Naruto—you and Naruto should come with us."

He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He was shocked, completely flabbergasted.

"You can't—you can't raise Naruto alone," I whispered urgently. "Not while you're the Hokage. Let us take care of him and—and you. I know you. I know you'll push yourself too hard, and too fast to help this village and you won't spare a thought for yourself. I know you'll do your best for Naruto, but I know your best isn't going to be good enough right now. We can— _we_ can do it, though, Sensei. We all l-loved her. We l-love Naruto. We l-love you. So stay with us."

I moved to stand beside him during my speech. The very nearly broken man was shaking, and his expression conveyed deep disbelief.

I reached towards him, and I pulled him into a hug.

I patted his back. "We're family. You aren't—aren't alone. Her being gone—her being gone doesn't change the fact that you're family. My family."

Namikaze Minato for the first time in a long, long time, allowed himself to cry.

And I held him like a mother would a child.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I held Naruto in my arms, the infant suckling on a bottle.

For the first time in many years, I stepped into the Senju compound. Obito and Kakashi moved behind me, taking in the immaculate compound with wide eyes.

Well.

It _used_ to be immaculate.

After years of being ignored—and I refused to allow anyone to enter, going so far as to place blood-intent seals around it that I had only recently deactivated last night—it had fallen into a rather dismal state.

"Time for a cleaning montage, I guess," Obito commented, assessing it with a critical eye. Then his characteristic grin popped up on his face. "This'll be great. Start fresh, ya'know."

"All new wallpaper. New flooring. Everything... everything needs to be replaced," I breathed out, subconsciously tightening my grip on Naruto. The infant continued to suckle at the bottle. "I'll pay for everything. New furniture. New trees. New plants. I want nothing of before left here."

"We won't throw anything out," Kakashi immediately disagreed. "We'll section off a room and put everything in storage scrolls. You may not want it now, but you might later."

"Fine. Let's just get this done."

We all made as many clones as we could, and we got to work.

 **(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

For the first week since the attack that's all we did. We didn't sleep more than a handful of hours at a time, and we ate while we worked. We took turns taking care of Naruto and Minato. Minato rarely left his office, and more than once we had to force feed him.

Naruto cried.

A lot.

He couldn't be put down. He had to be held constantly. I would hold him the longest because he took greater comfort nestling in my chest than the others.

He knew I wasn't his mother.

But he likely identified me as such regardless, simply due to how much I took care of him.

It was—

C

O

N

F

L

I

C

T

I

N

G

I didn't know how to accept such. Kushina was his mother. Kushina would always be his mother. I would be his sister, or his aunt. He was my brother, or my nephew. Never my son. Never _my child_

But Kushina wasn't here, and I knew she would want her son to grow up with a mother.

Kushina was not my mother.

But she was my mom.

So while I could not be his mother.

I might be his mom.

Temporarily, of course.

Because Kushina would return.

She would come back.

I would bring her back.

She would come back to me.

To us.

Yes.

For now, in her honor, for her, I could pretend to be his mom. I could love him, in her steed. I could care for him, in her absence.

I could be there for him.

So I held him the longest, and nobody objected to that. I fed him the most, and I changed his diaper the most frequently. He slept with me more than the others, and he weakly grabbed onto my hair while I worked.

And that's all we did for that week.

We—the four of us—would only really use one wing of the compound. The other three were sectioned off. One was closed off for permanent storage. The other I demanded to be used as my private area, and the last area was torn down and replaced with a private training ground.

Everyone had their own bedroom, and their own "office" or "work room." The kitchen was large, and the living room even bigger. We had three extra guest rooms, each with their own bathroom.

We tore up all the old tatami mats and replaced them with hardwood and carpet. We replaced the walls with wood paneling, and painted the top half red for Kushina.

We hired a decorator and told her to think warm.

She filled up our home with _warm_ furniture. She ordered us to add more windows, and a skylight, and a fireplace.

We did as she asked, and the end result was not disappointing.

Lastly, we covered the walls with the pictures that Kushina held dear.

Her wedding photos; the pictures of her and me (as a toddler). Of our team. Of Obito and his mother. Of Kakashi and his father.

We covered our walls with ghosts.

And it hurt.

It hurt dearly.

But we did it anyway because we loved them, and we missed them, and it would hurt worse to hide them away like some badge of shame.

Naruto's nursery was the warmest place in the whole wing, though. Barely over a week old and already he was all smiles and light.

He was the sun.

_Her little sunshine._

_I was her little sapling, but he was her little sunshine._

_Now he is my little sunshine._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

We moved into the compound the following day. We dragged Minato home, and we forced him to sleep in his new bed.

We all slept in our new beds for a couple hours.

Then we convened, as if on cue, into Naruto's room when he started crying.

And the four of us tried to soothe him.

We tried.

I tried.

I'm tired.

_I'm tired._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Grief was a strange thing.

I could tell you what I did for that first year since her death.

I could tell you every action I took.

I could tell you every word I said.

I could.

But yet I couldn't.

Because one day I stopped feeling the dull ache inside of my gut. One day it all faded away into the background and I _woke up._

The haze lifted.

The pain, while there, could be ignored.

I missed her, despite knowing I would see her again. I mourned her, even as I knew she would not remain dead.

But no more.

 _No more_.

Because I had to keep moving.

I had plans to finish.

People to kill.

Countries to ruin.

A world to tame.

Madara was waiting for me.

 _I was done grieving_.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I returned to his side exactly one year after Kushina's death.

He welcomed me back with a smile and a pat on the head.

He told me he knew it would not have been easy. He was pleased I had recovered so quickly.

He was proud of me.

I was proud of me.

We exchanged smiles and he allowed me to hug him tightly. He patted my back, and when I was ready he asked me, " _Shall we dance at last, my dear?_ "

" _What dance, my master?_ "

" _A dance to shake the very core of the world. A dance to end all dances. Shall we take the first step now, my dear?_ "

I smiled at him, and took his offered hand. " _Yes, master_."

" _Then follow my lead... my dear._ "

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Paint

The

World

**R**

**E**

**D**

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** Oh man if I could a Supreme Being from Overlord with my own creations that would be wicked.
> 
>  **Question:** Who would you want to be your antagonist or rival? Who would you want to be your support?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	26. Burning Orange

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

_**It's a deep and silent night,** _

_**I cannot hear anything,** _

_**sleep for eternity!** _

_**The grieving, the fury, enveloped inside** _

_**Such a maelstrom, it roars so loud** _

_**I'm losing my way in, the darkness tonight** _

_**Silent, I'm fading out.** _

_**\- Silent Solitude by Sam Luff** _

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"What are you doing with those Poprocks?" I asked, narrowing my eyes with suspicion at Obito. I had only finished warming up Naruto's bottle for his evening meal when I turned around and found Obito squatting down and holding a bag of poprocks out towards the toddler.

"I've always wanted to see what a baby's face looks like when they eat poprocks," Obito said innocently.

My left arm transformed into wood and I whipped it around to slap Obito on the arm. "Step away from the baby, you idiot! You don't give poprocks to someone that young. He could choke!"

"But—but— _c'mon,_ Oni-hime," Obito whined.

"No," I snapped, spikes growing out of my arm. "Go help Kakashi make dinner before I hit you again."

Obito puffed out his cheeks before doing as told and headed into the kitchen. I heard Kakashi's snort behind me followed up with Obito's typical _Shut up_.

My arm returned to normal and I smiled at Naruto, who sat upright in his highchair. I leaned towards him, gently kissing his forehead. "Your uncle is silly."

Naruto reached up, innocent smile on his face, and grabbed my hair with tiny hand. With ease, I lifted him up out of his chair and placed the sippy cup in his hands.

The toddler suckled on the sippy cub for a minute before looking up at me and saying, "Candy!"

"No candy," I disagreed as Kakashi left the kitchen and came into the living room.

"Candy," Naruto insisted.

"This is why we don't leave you alone with Jiraiya," Kakashi sighed with a small head shake. Jiraiya, Naruto's godfather, had visited a two months ago for Naruto's first birthday. He had stolen his godson for the entire day afterward and brought him back home hyped up on sugar, and taught him a new word.

That word being: candy

I passed Naruto off to Kakashi, kissing both on the cheek. "I need to do some paperwork for the next council meeting."

"I'll make sure he finishes dinner then give him a bath," Kakashi said, easily adjusting his grip on the toddler.

"Candy!" Naruto cried out.

"No," we both denied.

"I'll help you when I get back," Obito said, hopping out of the kitchen while carrying a wrapped bento. "Don't forget to get dinner for yourself, hime."

I brushed my hair over my shoulder before I responded. "I'll grab a plate now, then. Thanks."

"I'll go make sure Sensei eats," Obito said, heading towards the front door. "Have fun with paperwork and bathing the little monster."

"Mon-stah!" Naruto cheered.

"You're not a monster, little sunshine," I disagreed. "Stop calling him that, Obito."

"As soon as he's potty trained," Obito retorted before leaving.

"Candy?" Naruto asked.

"No," Kakashi immediately said. "Finish your bottle."

"Candy," Naruto insisted.

"No," we both said again.

"Candy," Naruto said sadly, looking reluctantly at his candy-less hands.

"I'm going to break that man's legs," Kakashi muttered under his breath. "Come on, Naruto, you can play with the puppies if you behave yourself and finish dinner."

Naruto squealed in delight at the word _puppies_. The display made me smile, and I took my leave there. I grabbed a bowl of pork, rice, and leeks before retreating into my workroom. I shut and locked the door behind me, activating the privacy seals.

I only had an hour's worth of paperwork to complete before the next meeting.

After a year of recovering from Kurama's attack—and Kurama did not devastate the village nearly as much as he did canonically because of my timely intervention—Konoha was nearly back on track. Everything had been rebuilt, and our casualty rate was rather exceedingly low considering what had transpired. We didn't even have to bring anyone out of retirement to keep up on the mission load after Kurama's attack.

Now that Konoha was back in shape, however, it was time to address progression.

Our village had come out victorious in the war and it was time to reap the benefits.

We would be at peace for at least a decade—Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure were suffering _tremendous losses_ and would be in recovery mode for another six years, minimum. Iwa and Kumo were especially hit hard from my decimation of their forces, followed up with Minato's legendary thousand-death killing spree in the span of half an hour. Kirigakure would soon be facing their own civil war once I took over, which meant Konohagakure had the luxury of true peace for a while.

This meant it was time to strengthen our forces as much as possible.

During the war the academy standards had become lax, forcing it to turn out more cannon fodder faster. Now it was time this was adjusted since we were at peace and could afford to take our time.

My new proposal had children entering the academy as early as six, and graduating at twelve.

Ordinarily, they would not enter until eight, but I was going to argue that it put them at a greater disadvantage later on, especially children from a civilian background. Those with clan connections received training that early and were already familiar with chakra by the time they came into the academy while civilians were left to muddle around.

This caused a disproportionate amount of graduates at the end of each year, and some shuffled off _permanently_ to the Genin Corp. While there was nothing wrong with being a Genin, I believed _anyone_ could become Jōnin if they applied themselves and received proper early instruction.

By forcing children into the academy at six and having them be instructed for an additional two years by the time graduation rolled around they would be that much more prepared.

Of course this, in turn, meant that the graduation exam had to be adjusted. Merely using the standard three techniques would not be enough.

Instead, they had to—in addition to knowing the three—master tree walking, have beginner's mastery in one specialized skill (such as swords, medical, poisons, or some other thing), and pass a psychological profile.

The psychological profile was mostly to vet out potential spies, like Kabuto.

Tree walking was a no-brainer, and the specialized skill would allow us to sort out where they should go after graduation with more ease. Minato had mentioned, rather frequently, he wished to start up a medical program to train those who had already graduated from the academy. Obito wholeheartedly supported that idea and asked me to push it forward for the council on his behalf.

I accepted after much bribery.

Namely humiliating Obito.

**Flashback**

"You want me to do this paperwork for you?"

" _Please_ , hime?" Obito begged.

I stared blankly at him, then glanced down at the awful puppy ear headband in my hands that Jiraiya got for Naruto. I was about to throw them away when Obito came crying in and begging for me to support his decision about the medical program and do the paperwork. I held them out to him. "Wear this. Bark and ask again nicely."

"I'm not—"

I turned away.

Obito cried out, "Okay, okay! Give them, give them!"

I turned back around, all smiles and handed him the puppy ears. He put them back on, his face grimacing into a pout.

"Bark," I said sweetly. "Beg your master."

"You're a fucking psycho," Obito muttered, at my glare he straightened up and morphed his face into something like a puppy dog pout. " _Woof._ Please? _Woof-woof_."

Kakashi walked in at that moment.

Kakashi stared at Obito barking, who in turned stared back at Kakashi with the deadest eyes. Kakashi looked over at me and I beamed at him.

"Okay. I'm afraid I'm going to have to kink shame you both now," Kakashi said. "Shame on you both."

"It's not like that!" Obito cried out.

"How rude of you to shame my kink," I said, ignoring Obito's wail of despair and plea that it wasn't anything like that. "You're an exhibitionist."

"Something you will never shame me of," Obito said, "when you literally carry around a bullwhip."

I patted the bullwhip on my side. "You guys gave it to me as a birthday present. I don't hear barking, Obi-tan."

"Woof, woof," Obito sniffled.

"What a good boy you are," I said. "Okay I'll do you... half your paperwork. To do the rest, you have to keep wearing that for the rest of the day."

Obito's tears were like art to me.

**End of flashback**

I would have rejected it out of spite otherwise (because it was Tsunade's dream and she would be _thrilled_ to know it was being implemented).

That plan, however, was still a work in progress.

Mostly because of the budgeting standpoint. Doctors and medical training was expensive.

Tsunade had originally set aside all of her own personal funds—funds I stole from her as soon as I became head before I kicked her out—so it was _doable_ , but the bitter part of me was reluctant to use them. Besides, they would only go so far and we still had to secure a permanent source of income for the program.

 _That_ was something Obito was working on, and once he had it figured out Minato and I would push forward with the plan.

Returning to my current proposal.

I already had the backing of most of the Clan Heads—a lot of them were eager to put their children in school as early as possible—and a handful of the civilian leaders. The only issue was some of the stodgy folks on the educational board didn't want to allocate the extra money to hire the necessary teachers in order to actualize the plan.

They hated the idea that I dared to suggest cutting into their precious salary to do so.

 _So_ , Minato and I had to work on a different budgeting plan to accommodate those bastards. Namely we did a whole bunch of minor budget cuts—not enough for any one department to bother raising a fuss—and allocated the extra money towards the project. Thankfully with the influx of missions no one was going to hurt too bad from the budget cuts.

And finally, tonight was all about organizing all of this paperwork into a presentation for the Council to vote on next week.

If it passed then it would be implemented the following year.

 _Paperwork, my old enemy, it is time for our next battle,_ I thought grimly as I stared down at my mess of folders on my large desk. With a rueful sigh, I set to work.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The streets were quiet in the morning.

The sun had not yet fully risen, only peaks of light barely escaping the horizon and gently brightening the sky. The crisp winter air tasted of frosty dew, and not a single cloud could be found in sight. The people moved about slowly, quietly, setting up their businesses and murmuring pleasant greetings.

Naruto, barely over a year old by that point, was looking around the street with wide blue eyes. I had him in a black makeshift carrier that wrapped around my shoulders and waist. He could walk on his own, but he didn't move fast enough for me to feel comfortable enough to allow him to do so on a busy street.

And the swaddle helped keep him warm—not that he needed much help since he inherited his mother's notoriously high body temperature.

As we passed by the citizens of Konoha each one noticed us and bowed in our direction. There were murmurs of, "Good morning Senju-sama / Pleasant wishes, Senju-sama / Bless you, Senju-sama," and other such nonsense. They looked on with admiration, and in some cases plain adoration.

My reputation from the war, coupled with my now "legendary" repeated rescues of the daimyo (and the fact that I personally trained the current heir), on top of my victory over Kurama had firmly cemented my status as a legendary figure in Konoha.

I was proud to say my infamy well exceeded Tsunade's.

"Candy?" Naruto whispered, pointing towards a bakery. The older man who was setting up the shop noticed Naruto's intense gaze and smiled with fond amusement towards the toddler.

He looked up at me, smile widening. "Senju-sama, would you do me the honor of having the first sweet buns today?"

I smiled politely in return, projecting an air of warmth. "I would be delighted, Baker-san."

The baker bowed towards both of us, disappearing into his shop for a handful of minutes before returning with a bag filled with freshly baked sweet buns. I gave one bun to Naruto, who immediately bit into it and let out a squeal of delight. "Yum!"

The baker smiled in genuine happiness. "Naruto-chan looks well today. How is Hokage-sama?"

"Busy as always," came my standard reply. "Have a wonderful day, and try to stay warm."

"You as well, Senju-sama."

I continued down the street as I headed towards the council meeting. The meetings usually took place in the evening but there was an expected snowstorm so the meeting was moved up to eight in the morning. Unfortunately such meant that we didn't have a babysitter ready for Naruto, so he would be attending the meeting with me.

Naturally not anyone was allowed to watch over Naruto. Literally only myself, Kakashi, Obito, Jiraiya, and Minato. Obito was selling his mother's house today—right this morning, actually—and given how much he cried about it last night we decided only Kakashi would keep him company and I would take care of Naruto.

Grief could be odd like that. He hadn't cried since he told his mother goodbye over a year ago, but selling her house magically put him right back in that moment.

Kakashi would take care of Obito for the day, he'd take him to a good bakery afterward for some comfort food before going home. I would assist with the comfort when I returned from the meeting, and Minato would watch over Naruto for the rest of the day.

The council meetings was held in the Hokage's building, of course, on the third floor. I wasn't the first to arrive, nor the last, and I saw that Hiashi was holding a tiny Hinata in his arms.

He noticed Naruto right away and inclined his head. I approached him first, and Naruto enthusiastically waved his hands.

"No babysitters today?" Hiashi inquired, adjusting the sleeping Hinata.

"I was going to ask you that," I teased. "Don't you have an entire clan to help you?"

Hiashi's face twitched briefly.

"Oho? Could it be that a certain beautiful wife of yours accused you of not spending enough time with your daughter?" A sly grin stretched over my face. From the subtle twinge of his lips I knew I hit the nail on the head. "Aha."

Hiashi sighed. "And what's your excuse? Your boyfriends too busy?"

"Yep," I agreed, never one to deny that the three of us were a couple because it drove Obito insane. "Did you already talk to the secretary to set up the playpen?"

"Of course, Senju-hime," Hiashi said, looking for all intents and purposes offended I even asked that.

While I smirked at how uncomfortable Hiashi looked with his only daughter—who was barely a year old, as well—the secretary rushed into the room and began to set up a collapsible pen.

More clan leaders entered after her, and once she had finished setting it up Hiashi and I deposited our children into it. Hinata had awoken from the movement, but was still groggy and began to lean heavily onto Naruto. Naruto, who had been awake since three that morning, was starting to get sleepy and fell backward before letting out a snort and falling asleep.

I took my seat beside Minato—Senju was always to the right of the Hokage—and shortly afterward the meeting began.

But, something odd happened during that meeting. Something that had been happening more, and more frequently. Every time Fugaku, leader of Uchiha, rose to speak...

... Minato's eyes turned cold.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

After the council meeting, Minato took Naruto out of the pen and asked about how Obito was doing. I was explaining what had happened last night—since Minato hadn't come home due to his obligations as Hokage—when I was interrupted.

"Senju-sama?"

I paused in my conversation with Minato, turning around to address Fugaku. I smiled politely at him. "Yes, Uchiha-sama?"

"A word?" Fugaku inquired, returning my smile with a polite one of his own.

I bowed my head in acknowledgment and Minato dismissed me with a wave of his hand before he left the office. I followed Fugaku out of the Council room and down the hall. We talked while we walked.

"I have not forgotten what Obito-kun was like as a child," Fugaku commented pleasantly. "Untrained, ill-disciplined, reckless... a proper _deadlast_ if you will."

"Yes, he was certainly a work in progress," I agreed.

"I know he has you to thank for his level now," Fugaku continued. "Now he does the Uchiha Clan proud and is widely considered a powerful Jōnin, even earning the moniker of _Ghost_."

My lips twitched faintly at that title. Obito's kamui only allowed him to phase in and out of his dimension. Without the Mangekyou stage he could not teleport very far, nor bring others into his dimension. His discovery of his ability shortly after Kushina's death was met with quiet acceptance, and he earned the moniker of Ghost after a handful of S-Ranked solo missions had spiraled out of control. He had gone toe-to-toe with some powerful S-Ranked criminals, and he came out on top every time. His clients called him a ghost on the field, and so the title was granted.

He hated it. He said heroes weren't ghosts.

I loved it. Certainly better than _demonic tree spirit_.

Urk.

"He's very capable now," I said. "What is your point, Uchiha-sama?"

"I shall be frank, Senju-sama: I wish for you to train my oldest son, Itachi."

Ah- _ha_.

 _What is it with people and wanting me to train them?_ I thought, momentarily thinking about Mo and his desperate need to be trained by me. I still had to visit the capital once a month to give him private lessons which mostly consisted of me being him around the training grounds until he passed out.

I honestly wondered if he was a masochist.

Still—

There was no real reason to refuse. I had cut back on my missions considerably to focus on raising Naruto and my responsibilities as a clan leader. I didn't have a clan to lead—most of my work was on politics for the council and securing alliances with the other clans—so I had a substantial amount of free time.

Even the Akatsuki didn't require more than a bi-monthly check up since Nagato and Konan were both extremely competent people. Since it was winter Madara was asleep.

"Okay," I agreed. Itachi would be, what? Seven? Six, maybe? That would be the ideal age to start training. "I'll come by tomorrow evening to do an assessment and we'll work out a training plan afterward."

Fugaku inclined his head. "Thank you, Senjus-sama."

"Of course. Whatever it takes for Konoha to become stronger, right?"

I pretended not to notice the brief discomfort on his face.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Naruto was more than happy to come along and play with Sasuke while I assessed Itachi. While the Uchiha boys' mother watched the two of them play I took Itachi out to the nearby training field in the complex and asked him to demonstrate what he could do.

It surprised me he didn't have a Sharingan.

 _Did I end the war sooner than canon?_ I wondered.

Even without the famed eye he was clearly talented and respectful. Teaching him would be an absolute breeze in comparison to Mo or Obito.

It was quickly worked out that I would take Itachi away three days of the week to train. He was to take the following days as resting period and if I ever found out that Fugaku was making him train or work during those days there would be literal hell to pay. I patted my bullwhip while staring him down and the clan head accepted the agreement without much fuss.

Once that was taken care of it was time to do my check up on the Akatsuki. I slipped out of the village, changed into my costume, and teleported over to Amegakure using a chain of trees I had set up underground many, many years ago.

"Welcome back, Owari," Konan murmured as I entered the top room in the Akatsuki tower.

I smiled behind my mask, adopting my persona. "Thank you, sister. How is our brother?"

Konan smiled fleetingly. "Well. We have found a third path for Pein."

"Wonderful. Do you require any assistance?"

"No. I will be more than sufficient."

I nodded to show acknowledgment, stepping further into the room. "In a month I will begin my orchestrations in Kirigakure. If I find worthy enough to assist our cause, I will send them your way."

Konan inclined her head. "That would be good—ah, we will be dealing with a food shortage in Amegakure soon. There was a plague on the farms we would normally rely on, and all their crops are dead."

"Intentional?"

"Uncertain at this point, but I am looking into it."

"Very well, sister. I will secure food elsewhere, then."

That will be a hassle. We needed Amegakure to shape up enough to serve our cause in the war. Madara wanted me to raise Konoha to be strong enough to entertain him during the war, but I had to make sure none of the villages are too strong.

I could keep Kumo and Iwa down by harassing them from the shadows while they're still recovering from the war. It shouldn't be too hard to blackmail some clients away from them, too. Kirigakure I'd personally sabotage with my civil war, and Sunagakure will never regain its strength as long as their daimyo still hated them.

Amegakure, on the other hand, we wanted to serve in our cause. We wanted to unite all of the smaller nations under the banner of the Akatsuki.

That was because, despite how much harassment I did, they are still the major villages. They are powerful, and without outright attacking them they would grow into a threat. If we raised these villages in our belief, however, instilled absolute loyalty and gave them power...

I planned to incite the hatred of kekkei genkai users in Kirigakure, but instead of outright slaughtering them I would carol them into Amegakure. We would induct them to our cause.

Of course, this could only be done with children.

Adults would be too much of a hassle to persuade, so I would still kill them.

But the children would be _reported_ dead by Kirigakure, and instead raised under Konan and Nagato's careful guidance.

They would be raised for the war to end all wars.

Once Amegakure was secure, we would slowly draw in the other nearby small villages.

They all knew the horrors of war. Their lands and homes were used as stomping grounds for our bloody battles.

They would not be hard to sway, of this I was certain.

So, Amegakure had to become stable and strong as quickly as possible. The sooner it was, the sooner we could begin to induct others into it.

A food shortage was highly troublesome.

I had allies in court as Naasica, and I had allies as Owari. Already within the very first year of his coronation Nebu had managed to form a very large divide amongst the nobilities. He was notoriously strict with his viewpoints, and openly beheaded those who broke the laws.

The people adored him for it because he had beheaded a quarter of nobility already.

The nobility despised him and were already amassing plans to overthrow him.

Of course, I couldn't let that happen so soon. I hadn't yet groomed his son to take over the throne. He would ascend in five years, I believed, but certainly no sooner.

It was important to let the nobility fester on their hatred until they simply couldn't take it. _They_ would be the ones to rise up in arms against him. They would waste their money and resources trying desperately to stop him.

Only when they were at their lowest point, desperate enough to even sell their souls, Owari would be there to help them.

Owari would be the one to guide Mo into chopping off his father's head and presenting it to the nobility.

The nobility and Mo would be indebted. Mo would be hailed as a hero, exactly what he wanted.

Both would be more than willing to supply the Akatsuki whatever they needed on the side.

Returning to the point, however, Naasica and Owari had allies in the court. Naasica's allies were the few nobles that sided with Nebu, and Owari had allies with those who resented the current daimyo.

Unfortunately, the ties weren't strong enough on either part to secure a food supply for Amegakure.

Which meant I would have to actually _buy_ some farming contracts.

I had already amassed plenty of money from many years working under Madara. I pillaged and raided so many wealthy monsters I honestly lost count.

But most of that money was _intended_ to amass an army. It was an irritation to have to spend it on food for a feeble village.

Especially when I knew if things had gone according to plan I wouldn't have had to spend that money.

If someone actually did intentionally release a plague upon those farmlands they better pray to whatever god they believed in that I wouldn't get a hold of them.

I wasn't feeling merciful.

I channeled chakra into one of the Zetsu spores I kept on me, summoning the twisted white creature. When it appeared I ordered it, "Take more spores and asses which farms can be bought out to ship exclusively to Amegakure."

"Yes, Owari-sama."

"I want a report by tomorrow night."

"It will be done."

The Zetsu sunk into the floor, disappearing, and leaving Konan and I alone.

 _I'll secure a food supply first before I move on to Kirigakure,_ I decided. Making sure Amegakure was stabilized took precedence, after all.

It would be ridiculously easy to throw Kirigakure into chaos. I doubt it would take me more than a month to incite the civil war.

"Is there anything else?" I inquired.

Konan shook her head. "No. We're constructing the greenhouses for the medicinal herbs, and plan to have those finished within a few weeks."

"Good. Any other buildings falling behind?"

"The extra lodgings you prepared for an influx of orphans from Kirigakure is still a work in progress," Konan admitted. "It will be done before the year ends, however."

"Acceptable, then. I will leave you to it. I will have food secured within a week."

"Thank you, brother."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

" _Hime..._ "

I shifted in my bed, my mind slowly transitioning into awareness. It took a handful of seconds before I was coherent enough to remember where I was. My eyes opened slowly and I found myself staring up at the face of one of the Zetsus.

It seemed to grin at me, though there was no mouth on this one and it only had one eye. It whispered (somehow), "Hime?"

"I'm awake," I said softly, moving to sit up. The Zetsu phased more out of the wall in my room, its arm reaching out and helping me tug the blankets off. "What's wrong? Does Madara-sama need me?"

Zetsu shook his head. "There's another one."

Confusion greeted me. "What?"

"There's another mokuton user. We can sense its chakra. It seems Orochimaru succeeded."

I stilled, horror and revulsion washing over me like a sludge wave. The wave passed quickly enough, though, and was replaced with absolute _fury_. Anger seared inside every pore of my being, and my eyes were alight with rage. " _What_."

The Zetsu nodded. "Madara-sama told us to tell you whenever we sensed one. He wants you to proceed how Senju Naasica should."

The anger faltered at the mention of Madara and his orders. Orders were orders. No matter how dearly I wished to set fire to Orochimaru and skin him alive, I knew I could not, yet. I was not strong enough, nor did I have enough political power to move against him and Danzo. Which begged the question of how exactly Madara wanted _Senju Naasica_ to proceed, and not _Owari_.

As Senju Naasica, I would be outraged and what had occurred and attempt to "save" the mokuton user before it fell into unseemly hands. I would deem it my obligation as Senju Clan Leader to take responsibility for the mokuton user. I would induct it to the Senju clan in order to increase my standing among the council and Konoha as a whole. The mokuton was revered among shinobi and kunoichi alike. It was guaranteed to provide high status (as long as the user was competent) or be lost in the system to be used for breeding purposes.

From what I could vaguely remember (it was also so cloudy—I had given all my memories to Madara for _him_ to remember. I did not need to remember that past life anymore, for I trusted Madara to use the knowledge to do what was right) that there _was_ a mokuton user in the anime. T-Tezo? Ten-something?

It didn't matter. I _knew_ that the mokuton was mutated into his body, and was not inherited naturally like myself. It was an aberration and as such the user was incapable of reproducing offspring with the mokuton. It was for that reason that he was drafted into ROOT, and not kept hidden away to be used as essentially a sperm donor.

Returning to the point, though.

As Senju Naasica, I would have to bring this mokuton user under my wings.

For what purpose did Madara want me to do such, though? Another mokuton user could only spell—

 _Oh_.

Another mokuton user in my clan would increase my standing on the council, true. It would also present me in even _more_ favorable light if I "saved him" from the "big, bad Orochimaru." Furthermore, it would force Orochimaru to either fight me for him—thus revealing himself—or at least limit his freedom in experimentation.

Over the past few years, Madara has had me do whatever I could to limit Orochimaru's experiments, which forced Orochimaru into the village.

If the experiment was brought to light, Orochimaru would be forced to flee the village and thus would be vulnerable to Madara's plans.

It made sense, in that aspect, to bring Orochimaru's experiment to light. It did _not_ make sense (as Owari) to allow the mokuton user to live. Senju Naasica would want the mokuton user to live, and be under her care and influence, whereas Owari would want to quickly eliminate the potential threat.

So why did Madara want the mokuton user to live? For what purpose could such a creature serve his plans?

_More entertainment for the war?_

It was possible, but regardless the reason didn't matter at the time.

I trusted Madara. Whatever he had in store for the new user was for him to know, and him alone at that time. I did not need to question his orders; I only needed to follow them.

 _So_ , a _s Senju Naasica I want to expose Orochimaru for his crimes, preferably murder him or have him executed, and induct the mokuton user into my clan to increase my political standing and power,_ and _influence him to be beneficial for me in the later years._

Zetsu swayed gently, and as if sensing my thoughts, he said, "Orochimaru will not be able to move for seventy-two hours. Well, closer to sixty-nine, now. The experiment was a success, but the user is fragile at the moment and will require three days to become stable."

"I see," was all I said. "Can you tell me where the mokuton user is being held?"

"Directly underneath Konohagakure's East Hospital. If you go into room 104 and go straight down, you'll find him."

"Very well. You may go now."

"Yes, Hime."

Once Zetsu was gone I hopped out of bed, got dressed, and moved to wake up Kakashi, Obito, and Minato.

Each of them were instantly alert when I told them there was an emergency. Minato quickly grabbed Naruto without waking him, and all of us gathered in the living room for my explanation.

"There's another mokuton user," I said with absolute certainty. "I can sense him."

"What?" Obito repeated back, his brow furrowing. "How—"

"How are you certain?" Kakashi asked. "Are mokuton users able to sense one another?"

"It's possible," Minato admitted, holding Naruto close to him. "Hashirama-sama never met another user, and up until now—wait are you pregnant?"

Obito and Kakashi looked at me in abject horror and I snorted. "Don't be stupid. We haven't had sex, yet."

" _Ever_ ," Obito hissed out.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "So you sense another user? Does that mean Tsunade's back and _she's_ pregnant?"

"That whore is nowhere near the village. I'd have already gutted her if I sensed her," I spat out, momentarily filled with bitter disgust. "No. I don't know what's going on, but it's coming from the East Hospital, below ground."

 _That_ got some looks.

"We need to check it out, then," Kakashi said. "Let's go."

"Report back immediately what you find," Minato ordered. "You have twenty minutes before I send in the ANBU."

The three of us lazily saluted at that before dashing out the front door. Within five minutes we were at the hospital, and within another three I was standing in room 104. Without hesitation and promptly slammed my chakra-charged fist into the flooring and it gave away.

The three of us fell down over thirty meters before landing in a laboratory.

It was something out of a horror movie. Tanks filled with glowing green liquid, blood stains everywhere, broken glass and loose wires as far as the eye could see. The lights above us flickered, looking ready to go out at any moment.

"What the fuck," came Obito, looking around.

While I agreed with that sentiment, I came with a purpose. Within a minute of landing in the cliche mad scientist lab, I located a tank that still had a child inside of it. I approached it, Kakashi and Obito following behind me.

As I arrived the child opened his eyes.

One black.

One burning orange.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Bonus: a continuation of the humiliation**

Kakashi looked at both of us again before he shook his head. "No wonder everyone thinks we're a couple."

" _What_?!" Obito squealed out in horror, his voice cracking because the poor sixteen-year-old hadn't finished puberty.

Kakashi nodded. "Oh, yeah. I got asked out today by this girl, and her friend interrupted to loudly warn her, and I quote: _Everyone knows Hatake-kun is dating Senju-sama and Uchiha Obito!_ "

"You corrected her, right?" Obito half-demanded, half-pleaded.

"Of course I didn't correct her," Kakashi answered. "It'd be too much of a hassle otherwise."

" _Why?!_ " Obito practically screamed, his hands flying up to cover his mouth like he was _deeply_ scandalized by the idea.

"If people think I'm dating you two they leave me alone," Kakashi explained rather cheerily.

I nodded in agreement, smiling. "Sounds absolutely perfect."

" _No, it does not!_ "

"Why?" Kakashi and I asked him.

"What if I want to date someone else?!"

"How dare you try to cheat on us," I said mockingly. "You should be ashamed of yourself.

"We're wounded, Obito," Kakashi fake whined. "You're breaking our heart."

"We aren't dating!" Obito's voice was starting to go up a few octaves, and cracking even more so. "We are not a couple! Or threesome. Or whatever it's called."

"According to Konoha, we are," I pointed out. "Ah, you know, this _does_ explain some comments made by the council. Especially by Fugaku."

" _Oh, no_ ," Obito whispered, his eyes widening in plain, abject terror.

Kakashi patted his shoulder. "There, there. You know what would cheer you up?"

"I think I do," I chirped. "How about we take him out on a date?"

"That sounds like the _perfect_ idea," Kakashi agreed, an evil gleam in his eyes.

" _No_!" Obito denied, but it was too late. We had our minds made up.

There would be no stopping us.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Half an hour later we had chakra repressing cuffs on Obito's wrists and ankles and forced him into clean clothes. Then we were dragging him out the front door, all the while he gave us a hateful glower.

"Oh," Minato said as he entered the home, Naruto in his arms. "Where are you three off to?"

"We're going on a date," Kakashi and I said while we dragged a whining Obito behind us.

"The three of you?"

"Yep," I answered, perfectly straight-faced.

Minato blinked once. "Okay. Have fun. Come on, Naru-chan, let's practice reading."

"Candy!" Naruto cried out with glee.

"I object," Obito cried out as we dragged him out the front door, his face redder than roses. "I object a thousand times over. I don't want to be a—ah—a—ah weird couple!"

"Shh. You don't have to deny your feelings anymore, Obi-chan," I cooed. "Let's show the world how much we _love_ each other."

His loathing look made Kakashi and I burst into laughter.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cute fan art by arneewenn on deviantART of Naasica in a swimsuit. Tempted to do a beach omake or something because of it. :)
> 
>  **Answer:** Support I'd want Naruto since he'd absolutely have my back all the way. Rival I'd want Obito.
> 
>  **Question:** Motive for being evil? What's your end goal? World domination, or maybe complete destruction of humanity?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	27. Beginning of the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

" **Cheating out each other**

**Betray one another**

**What's the point,**

**When we know everything's so meaningless?**

**It's a deep and silent night,**

**I cannot hear anything**

' **Cause everything is fast asleep.**

**Now the world, so full of sin**

**It repeats itself again,**

**Such a relentless dream!"**

**\- Sam Luff**

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Words failed me as I stared at the child in the tank. My memory of the original timeline might have been a bit off, but I knew that the child did not originally have orange eyes.

My eyes.

Kakashi and Obito were beside me. Obito sucked in a sharp breath as he quickly put the pieces together, and Kakashi placed a hand on my shoulder.

He has my eyes.

Orochimaru successfully made a mokuton user with not only Hashirama's, my grandfather, DNA... but with my own.

The desire to skin him alive was undeniable. I knew, with every fiber of my being, that I would make that worm scream for the violation he has done to me. My skin crawled, and my stomach heaved dangerously. He stole my DNA. He took my blood and he used it to create a child of my blood.

**He violated me.**

The spike of killing intent was impossible to hide. My hands curled into fists so tightly that they bled from my nails digging in. Chakra unintentionally oozed out of me, cracking the ground around me and shattering the glass tube that kept the child imprisoned.

Obito caught the boy as he fell forward, coughing up putrid liquid.

"This is from Orochimaru," I said, my voice tight with barely contained fury. "I am going to skin him alive, and have the nastiest human I can find violate him until he dies."

Obito adjusted the now unconscious boy in his arms, "How can you know it's Orochimaru?"

"I know," I hissed out. "Obito, take care of that child and tell Minato everything. I'm going hunting."

"I'm coming with you," Kakashi told me. "If we're really going after Orochimaru—"

"We are."

"Then you'll need back up. Obito, join us as soon as you can," Kakashi finished. "I'll leave Pakkun with you."

Obito nodded slowly, but my anger would not allow me to wait any longer.

I dashed up onto the rooftops, struggling to keep my chakra level so it wouldn't burst out and destroy my nearby surroundings. It had been an incredibly long time since I had last been filled with so much vile hatred that my chakra became unstable. Madara had taught me numerous techniques to keep a level head, but the sheer disgusting transgression Orochimaru wrought upon my very DNA—my very body—

It was a violation. He literally stole my own DNA from who the fuck knew how and he infused it into an innocent child.

Kakashi was beside me within moments, one of his ninken already summoned. "He's already caught Orochimaru's scent. It was all over the place."

"Take us to him," I ordered the dog, and it let out a soft bark before leaping across rooftops, nose down.

We raced behind the small dog, my growing anger igniting tinto a destructive bonfire. Nothing would appease my anger until I had that slimy little vermin's head mounted on a pike, and his skin turned into a rug.

I bit so hard onto my bottom lip it began to bleed, and my nails continued to dig into the palm of my hands and peel back the skin. My body was ablaze with my rage, and though I sincerely tried to keep it in check, it continued to boil over like lava.

And then we reached the edge of the village and that worm's scent went past it.

"FUCK!"

I swore so vehemently that Kakashi grimaced.

We weren't allowed to pursue anyone past the edge of the village without the Hokage's permission. Waves of killing intent rolled off me, and likely anyone else besides my teammates would have cringed and tried to move away from me from the sheer level of murderous desire I had.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Barely an hour later, I was sitting beside a hospital bed. Kakashi and I had returned to the Hokage office where Minato and Obito were waiting for us. He immediately dispatched several ANBU squads to pursue Orochimaru, and I volunteered to go.

This was immediately rejected by Minato, my surrogate father citing that it was apparent that Orochimaru wanted me. He would have prepared for my pursuit, and only an obvious trap would be waiting for me if I chased him.

"And," Minato had added, "you now have a bigger problem to deal with."

That problem being the kiddo who now had half my DNA. A small portion of my grandfather's DNA had been mixed in, and the last remaining bit of DNA was whatever was left of his original genetic makeup.

The boy was barely older than five, frail, and had a completely shot immune system.

In other words he was an extremely vulnerable mokuton user.

This instantly warranted a heavily guarded room, but I knew for a goddamn fact Danzō would be itching to get his stupid little fat fingers on him, so I personally took over.

God fucking damn it I can't wait to kill Danzō, too, I thought with every bit of sincerity I had.

Of course for what Madara and I had planned for Danzō, the warmonger would undoubtedly prefer a torturous death.

At least that guaranteed death.

Madara and I weren't nearly so merciful.

Returning to the point, though, I sat beside his hospital bed, watching him with a narrowed gaze.

Obito had brought me several calming teas, and was currently in the progress of obtaining all the necessary paperwork to permanently release the experiment into my charge.

I debated on naming him Senju heir, too, since he had the mokuton and I certainly wasn't going to willingly bring children into this world.

But then I remembered all that responsibility and obligations forced upon me when I was his age, and I decided against doing that to him. I wouldn't wish that on a stranger, let alone a kiddo I was going to raise.

I sighed as the door opened. I looked up to find a doctor, but—

You son of a bitch, I thought with disbelief.

Owari and Zetsu already had a list of every single one of Danzō's operatives. I knew them by heart so I could easily spot one of his spies.

That cheeky, arrogant little fuck straight up sent one of his ROOT ANBU members to pose as a doctor.

"Good morning, Senju-sama," the doctor who was actually ROOT-Eagle. "I'm here to perform an examination on the patient."

I crossed my legs and folded my arms over my chest. I sat back in my chair, my eyelids slowly drooping and I mumbled, "Fine."

"Tired, Senju-sama?"

"It's been a long night," I lied, "and Obito had me drink some nasty tea."

The operative faked his laughter, approaching the child and beginning a cursory examination. I continued to fake fighting sleep, while I kept a sharp and focused gaze on his every action. I strained my senses to detect even the subtlest of suspicious movements.

If I really had been fighting sleep I would have missed the needle appearing between two of the operative's fingers.

Unfortunately for him that wasn't the case, and within a second I had already thrown my right arm out, shot out wood from it, and impaled his neck. The force continued to throw him all the way back until he hung by his neck into the wall behind him.

I stood up from my seat, withdrawing my hand but leaving my wooden stake. "Fucking idiot."

The operative tried to gargle something, but blood had already filled his lungs and he would be dead within the minute.

I walked around the bed and right up to him. I forced his jaw open, saw the tattoo on his tongue, and proceeded to rip his tongue out. I had to change my hand into sharpened wood to get the job done, but I wasn't going to let this opportunity slide.

The operative tried to scream, but no sound could be made. He died pitifully, unable to breathe. His body twitched for several seconds after his heart stopped beating, but eventually he became completely still.

I tossed the tongue onto my seat and made a clone to let Minato know we had more traitors amongst our midst.

Then I took a seat at the end of the kiddo's bed, and continued to stare at the corpse.

He's lucky there's a child here that might've woken up, I thought to myself. I had to make it quick.

I glanced over at said child, unsurprised to find him still asleep. There was a small splatter of blood on his nose and cheek, so I reached across and wiped it off.

Innocence and red simply didn't go together.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Minato teleported directly to me, his face contorted into fear and worry. "Naa-chan, are you okay?"

I remembered the last time someone he loved had been attacked, she died.

So I stood up, gave Minato a big warm smile, and reached out and touched his shoulder. He grabbed my hand, giving it a firm squeeze as if to make sure I was really there. "I'm fine. The moron had his guard down."

Minato swung his gaze towards the hanging corpse. "You said he was a traitor?"

I withdrew my hand from him and gestured towards the severed tongue. "Take that to Hiruzen. He'll be able to tell you more about that symbol... but make sure no one else is around when you do."

Minato's brow furrowed as he looked at the tongue. "Hime, what do you know?"

"I may not be a spymaster," I lied slowly, easily, "but I've been doing my own investigations. A long time ago, while I was still a Genin, Danzō approached me. He tried to recruit me for something, but my gut instinct told me to avoid him and whatever he was planning. For a while I let it be, but after I got Jōnin I began to look into him... Well, I don't want to bias your own investigations, but let's just say he has some suspicious activity."

Minato turned back to face me fully, his expression grave. "Naasica, Danzō is a highly respected member of Konoha."

I lowered my gaze demurely, knotting my fingers together in a fake nervous tic. "Sensei... Sensei... that night... that night that Nee-chan died..."

"You know I can't talk about that with you," Minato told me softly, as kindly as he could, even as pain laced his voice.

"It's not well known that a jinchūriki's seal is weakened during child birth," I murmured, "but did you know that Danzō was trained by Hashirama? Did you know my grandmother taught him fūinjutsu?"

Brittle, unbearably cold silence filled the room. Minato's entire demeanor shifted as pieces slowly began to fall into place. The only sign of cold fury that could easily detected was the way his breath hitched.

"Danzō," Minato said slowly, forcibly, "is a valued member of Konoha."

"Who has been after your position for decades, and operates his own private military force," I told him honestly, biting my bottom lip and feigning concern. "That mark... that's his mark, Sensei. Take it to Hiruzen... he'll tell you everything. But, please, be careful. If Danzō finds out-"

For the briefest second, as I explained to Minato what I knew, killing intent so sharp and intense leaked out of him. It was enough to make me instinctively take a step back and I had to resist the urge to draw upon my Sharingan and take a defensive stance.

But it was gone too soon, and Minato had his back turned to me, his fists clenched tightly. "Hime... I think that you were tired. You were so tired, and hurt, and angry over what has happened tonight that you went a little too far on the person who tried to attack you. I think he's damaged beyond recognition."

I licked my lips. "Should I seek counsel to help calm me down?"

"Inoichi will be available, I'm sure, to help you through this. Obito, and Kakashi should be able to watch over the child while you take care of yourself."

"Yes, Sensei."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Throwing Kirigakure into civil war was pathetically easy.

All I had to do was get Yagura alone, ensnare him with Madara's Sharingan long enough to bring him back to the cave where Madara would implant control seals on him... and viola. We gave him a blanket order to purge all kekkei genkai users and throw Kirigakure into civil war.

He really only required weekly checkups in person, since Zetsu was able to keep an eye on him and steer him in the direction we wanted.

So for the most part I let Kirigakure fall apart, but...

Well, there were a couple people I kept a personal close eye on. And I still had to be the one in person to rescue the children of kekkei genkai families to provide them "safe haven" in Amegakure.

I had to build Owari's reputation, after all.

One of those valuable shinobi was none other than Kisame, and the moment I knew he was ready to listen to me, listen to the Akatsuki... I struck.

This poor, tired young man who had to kill every single one of his comrades. This child soldier who never was given the chance for companionship.

When he had finally reached his breaking point, when he finally killed his precious senses and took Samehada for himself, I knew it was time to save him.

"I've watched you," I whispered from the shadows to Kisame, as the man gripped his legendary sharks in sword for the first time. "A man forced into a wretched world. Tell me, Kisame, how does it feel to have to kill everyone you love? What is like to have to murder your own comrades and become so embroiled in darkness and hatred?"

Kisame slowly turned around to face me, a humorless grin on his face. "You sound like you know, stranger."

"I do," I admitted. "And I hate it."

The smile stretched further across his face, but there was no warmth.

Only bitterness.

"That can change," I told him softly, "I am changing the world, Kisame. I will destroy this current lie of peace we live in, and bring forth a genuine utopia. There will be no more wars. There will be no more betrayals. There will be no more lies."

"Pretty words for someone who hides in the shadow," Kisame remarked, and I smiled.

"Only in the shadows are people like you and me safe," I told him, brushing my hair out from behind my eyes. I allowed my Sharingan to come to life so Kisame could see its glow in the darkness. Then I stepped out and into the light.

Recognition immediately dawned on his face. "Senju... Naasica? But you have a Sharingan...?" Understanding flickered in his eyes. "The Mizukage really is being controlled by someone else, isn't he?" Kisame's shoulders shook as he started laughing with pained bitterness. "All this time... all this insanity and bloodshed... it's because of you."

"It's because of this world," I corrected, approaching him. I held out my hand to him. "Kisame, you and I have both seen the truth of human nature, and how disgusting this world really is. It needs to change. Join me, and I swear to you we will create a worth without lies, or pain."

"You're not acting on behalf of Konoha," Kisame said quietly. "You are... serious?"

"I swear to you. I will bring you to my master, Uchiha Madara, and we will explain everything to you. I will not lie to you, Kisame," I sincerely promised him.

"And if I say no?"

"You won't."

Kisame laughed once again, but this time not nearly as bitter. "Alright. You win. I'll join you, hime."

He took my hand, and I pulled him into the darkness.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Konan, Nagato, allow me to introduce you all to my comrade," I said, bringing Kisame forth. I itched to readjust my mask as Owari, but decided against doing so in their presence. "When the Akatsuki is formed, Kisame will be my partner. We will hunt the eight and nine tailed beasts."

Kisame had a wide grin on his face, baring his sharp teeth. "Please to meet you."

"Welcome to the Akatsuki," Konan greeted coolly. "It is odd to find one like yourself interested in peace."

"I've been through enough wars," Kisame admitted, "I'm tired of the constant deception and how rotten this world has become."

Sensing the sincerity in that statement, both Nagato and Konan softened slightly.

"Then you were right to join us," Nagato intoned, his voice barely above a whisper. "We will purge this diseased world and bring forth a new, brighter, and better future."

Kisame nodded his head. "That's what I wanted to hear."

Kisame and I then left so I could show him around Amegakure and where he would be staying. As soon as we left the building he asked me, "Do they know who you are?"

"Only you," I admitted to him.

"I'm honored," he said, but I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"I told you," I said, words tumbling out of my mouth from what was left of my blackened heart, "I will never lie to you."

For reasons I didn't entirely understand this made him almost stumble in his next step. When I glanced back to look at him curiously I saw the oddest smile on his face.

"Then I suppose I better not give you any reason to."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Oh... oh it is you."

I stopped on the streets of Amegakure, disguised as Owari. Slowly, I turned back around, curious as to who had called out to me. The streets were mostly empty this time of night, but to my surprise a young man—or, no, an old child?—stood waiting for me. He was leaning heavily on a walking stick, his eyes bandaged over.

"May I help you?" I inquired politely. Owari was not someone who was unkind to the citizens of Amegakure, after all. He was known as their Black Angel, righteously protecting everyone.

"You saved me years ago," he said, "you saved all of us... That man might have taken my eyes, but I'm a chakra sensor. I would know your chakra from anywhere."

That... was odd. The seals placed behind Owari's mask were meant to hide my naturally "lethargic" chakra. If he was able to feel through those seals, he would have to be incredibly sensitive to chakra.

But wait, if he knew who I was—!

The man dropped to his knees. "Thank you... thank you. I thought no one would ever come for me, in that awful place. You saved me... you saved my sister, my friends... all of us... I wanted to find you and thank you, but you were hard to find. I found others that you had saved, though. We're all so grateful."

I was frozen.

I could detect no lie in this man's voice, only plain sincerity as he openly wept. I searched my memories for him until—

He was the victim of the first monster.

Yes, oh, yes I remembered now. That monster had raped, beaten, starved, and tortured him and so very many other young boys. Their village had been destroyed in the war, and he had preyed upon their vulnerability, offering to help them find new homes.

The monster had gouged out all of the victims' eyes when he was done.

I broke the monster, and I healed each victim as best as I could. Only a few were able to survive, however, and those few I dropped off in a nearby village that was out of the war's path.

My heart twisted in sympathy with this child. Not only did he lose his family, but he lost...

"That is my purpose," I told him kindly, kneeling down and gently touching his shoulder. "I will always hunt down monsters, and I will do everything I can to make this world better. A world without victims, or monsters."

The boy looked up at me, his face twisting as the barest hint of hope touched him. "A world with no monsters? You will destroy them all?"

"I will," I swore, "The Akatsuki will do this."

A shudder ran through him, and he whispered, mostly to himself, "Will the monsters be gone even in my dreams?"

"I will destroy every monster. They will never touch you again, as long as you remain here," I promised him with all the tenderness I had left to give. "Amegakure is safe, child."

"I had—I had hoped," he whimpered, "they said a masked angel had descended upon here... we all hoped..."

"There are others?"

"You saved so many of us. We all wanted to thank you... we couldn't find you, though... we..." the child folded in upon himself. "We were scared."

Watching a child break before your eyes was a different kind of pain. It ate up inside of my gut, and strung out my heart. I couldn't resist pulling him close and comforting him like a mother might do.

Who else would do so?

He cried in my arms, this child no older than fourteen, and I soothed him as best I could.

If I wanted to make this world a better place, what kind of person would I be if ignored someone like him? Someone who was so thoroughly victimized by this wretched place? When the sobs and hiccups died down, I asked him, "Will you take me to the others?"

"Yes! Th-They want to thank you, too."

I smiled behind my mask. "I want to reassure them that they're someplace safe now. No one will ever harm you here."

"Thank you... thank you... I swear... we'll do e-everything we can t-to help."

"I know," I told him, "because you know exactly why the world needs to change. Tell me, child, what is your name?"

"Kurisu," he whispered, "I—I have a younger s-sister, though. H-Her name is Guren."

Guren.

For some reason the name made me think of crystals, turtles... and a flower?

Whatever. I'll meet her soon enough, I suppose.

"Because y-you saved me... my s-sister a-almost starved, but y-you saved me s-so I could save her," Kurisu started to sniffle again, trembling in my arms.

"Hush, child," I comforted him. "Let's get you out of the rain, shall we?"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

" **How should I repent?**

**How can I atone**

**For the evil I have done?**

**Who is it, the person,**

**The one to forgive me when I forgive none?"**

**Sam Luff**

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

With Kirigakure thrown into complete chaos the civil war only escalated.

In the original version of Naruto, the civil ended when the rebellion overthrew Yagura. Kirigakure was forced into a state of constant repair, and the new Mizukage, Mei, worked tirelessly to try and better Kirigakure.

That did not happen here.

Perhaps I was crueler than Tobi.

Or perhaps I was simply more thorough.

Tobi didn't care to make people needlessly suffer. He only wanted Kirigakure to suffer for Rin's death, and to keep one of the major villages busy while he prepared the Akatsuki.

I saw no reason to allow Kirigakure to continue. They served no purpose, really.

I had a much better use of their people.

Each child with a kekkei genkai was rescued by a masked man that others would come to call as the Black Angel.

Owari.

I, as Owari, saved these people when no one else would lift a finger. I faked some of the children's death—of course I was tragically too late for many of their parents—and brought them to Amegakure where the brainwashing and grooming began.

Here in Ame they were safe.

Here in Ame they were loved.

Here in Ame, the Angels and God watched over them.

Here in Ame, they would grow strong.

Here in Ame, they would learn how to save the world.

I wasn't exclusive about children, though. There were some promising shinobi and kunoichi that I rescued and released. I wanted some reputation built up, after all, and if some of those valiant warriors chose to follow me instead...

Well, who was I to refuse their loyalty?

Once I had sucked Kirigakure dry of its resources and valued bodies, I, as Owari, slaughtered Yagura in defense of humanity. An unsung hero, I saved the people and liberated them of Yagura and his loyalists.

But this also meant the end of Kirigakure, and the Great Five now became the Great Four.

The poor water daimyo and his ilk began to scramble to hire mercenaries and other lowlifes to fill the power vacuum.

By the time Kirigakure came to a close, it was time to focus my attentions on the capital.

Nebu had served his purpose and I had manipulated Mo to hate his father, and adore me.

Your father has become a villain, I whispered in Mo's ear. Won't you become the hero your people deserve?

Mo rose to the occasion with a fervor, delighting in severing his "evil" father's head from his body.

His sweet mothers wept until he chopped off their heads, too.

With his ascension to the throne, and Mo thoroughly wrapped around my finger, maneuvering politics in the Land of Fire had become a breeze.

After that, it was time for a little... family reunion for Madara.

The Uchiha Clan, with their precious Sharingan, would be immune to the genjutsu, after all. They simply couldn't be allowed to live.

It was so easy to keep planting little clues to make Minato believe the Uchiha and Danzō played a role in Kushina's death. A little fake evidence here, a little story there...

And when the Uchiha decided throw a coup all on their own, that was icing on the cake!

They had to be dealt with, and so did Danzō.

Why not take care of them both?

It was an utter bloodbath, and I reveled in it.

The rest of the years passed by pleasantly. The Akatsuki continued to grow in strength, and Ame doubled in size as it took in Kirigakure refugees. The hunt for Orochimaru continued, but the bastard was keen on never being caught.

There were some more, subtle changes made to differentiate our world from canonical.

Indeed, by the time we reached the start of the end... it was like a whole new world.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**ELEVEN**

**YEARS**

**LATER**

I drummed my fingers on the kitchen table, thinking about how much Hidan was a pain in my ass and maybe I should have killed him. I knew how to: starve him to death.

But damn it, he really was the only person I could partner with Kakuzu. The miser was too valuable for the Akatsuki to get rid of, too, because he knew how to twist finance around like you wouldn't believe. He's made things essentially cost half as much as they would without him. The only downside was that he had an awful tendency of killing his own partners out of irritation.

Hidan was extremely hard to kill, and as long as Kakuzu didn't figure out how to kill Hidan then we had a good partnership.

Well, maybe not good, but they got the job done.

Why can't everyone be like Kisame? I thought for the millionth time. My partner was perfect. Literally. Could not ask for anyone better.

While I adored Obito and Kakashi, Kisame was a hundred times easier to work with.

Mostly because I didn't have to hide anything with him, but also because of how incredibly efficient and easy going he was. Obito and Kakashi would still bicker like old maids at times, and Obito was easy to get riled up.

"Shishō?" Itachi inquired quietly, gently setting down a cup of warm tea. "Are you okay?"

Pulled out of my thoughts, I smiled warmly at Itachi. "Yes, sorry."

Itachi gave me a small smile as he took a seat at our kitchen table. Ever since he, Shisui, and Sasuke moved in after the massacre (since Obito became their only living guardian) the sweet child practically lived in the kitchen. He had an honest talent for cooking and baking, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

I might have trained him to be a shinobi—indeed he reached Jōnin at ten which made his father inordinately proud—but for the past several years he's taken less and less missions.

He actually hadn't taken a mission at all this past year as a shinobi, choosing instead to begin working in a small bakery. I obviously encouraged him to keep up with exercise to stay healthy, but I would never, ever force someone into this kind of career.

Obito, Kakashi, Minato, and I all encouraged Itachi to follow his heart. We would support him whatever job he chose.

Even if that meant instead of being a top-notch shinobi he became a world-class chef.

Not that I could blame him much for wanting a change in career, anyway. He was always a peaceful soul, and in another lifetime he would have been a pure pacifist. The horrors of the massacre, and the truth behind it all—

"Shishō... why... why?!" Itachi cries out, his eyes shining. "Why did you do this? This wasn't—this wasn't your mission!"

Tears started to spill over his eyes, waterfalls of despair and anguish. Itachi trembled as he staggered towards me, dressed in his ANBU gear without the mask.

I reached for him, the blood and guts of his family still covering me. I wiped at his tears and I said with every bit of warmth and love I had left inside of my nearly dead heart, "My sweet boy... I fight to protect those like you from having to give up their light. I fight every day to make sure no one else has to join me. How could I standby and watch you do this? Itachi... I love you like you were my own little brother."

His knees buckled and he fell into my arms, sobbing and crying. He cried in relief. He cried in grief. He cried in pain.

I held him, blood still dripping down from me.

I could hardly blame him for wanting to be done with this awful, awful world.

"Naruto and Sasuke are taking the graduation exam today," Itachi remarked, placing a plate filled with steaming buns on the table.

"Yes," I agreed. "How could I forget when they woke everyone up at four to go to school early and 'get it out of the way.'"

"Why they would think anyone was at the school that early is beyond me," Itachi said, shaking his head and taking a seat across from me.

"Who knows what goes on in their heads?" I mused.

Obito hopped into the kitchen, carrying bags and bags of junk. Er, celebration party stuff, I mean. "I'm ho-ome!"

"Welcome home," Itachi and I greeted him.

Raion followed in after Obito, his bicolored eyes looking around the kitchen. On top of his orange eye, he had inherited my unruly, curly dark brown hair. When he grew it out it looked like a proper lion's mane, so we named him Raion. Sadly, my fellow mokuton user didn't enjoy the comparison and kept his hair as short as possible in a vain attempt to control it. "It smells really good in here. What did you make, Itachi?"

Itachi perked up at that, a very subtle and small smile on his face as he proudly said, "I'm making rolled tea cake with puff balls."

Raion grinned cheerfully at that, his demeanor very much like Obito's without the clumsiness. "That sounds great! I bet they'll come out perfect. You've already filled up the whole compound with the smell, you know. I could smell it the moment we crossed the gates."

That got a small, cute smile out of Itachi.

The Senju Compound—and Clan—had expanded over this past decade. After the Uchiha massacre its last remaining survivors had nowhere to go. Obito was unceremoniously thrusted forward as the new Clan Head, but my dear teammate simply couldn't handle the position. He was stressed, in terrible grief—even if he was not close to his clan, he still grew up with them and cared for them—and overwhelmed. Considering the only survivors were all children, too, he became a guardian on top of it all.

Taking pity upon my friend, I suggested he disbanded the Uchiha Clan and they could all live under Senju. I would protect each of them from any political pressure, and handle all the duties.

Obito barely thought about it for a minute before he accepted.

Obito, Itachi, Sasuke, and Shisui promptly integrated into the Senju Clan as my wards.

Due to this large surplus, we had to open up yet another wing in the compound and set everyone up.

This also included forcing three of them into therapy, and since they were children under my charge I could enforce that. Thankfully all three of them eventually came to accept the offered help, and within a couple years after the massacre they showed noticeable improvement.

I think it really helped that none of them participated, or saw, the massacre.

Itachi, because I took care of it.

Sasuke, who had stayed the night at Naruto's.

Shisui, because he had been kidnapped and held captive. He had no memory of anything at all during those three days, and was found shortly afterwards.

"I got the meat for the barbeque!" called out Shisui as he came into our home. Dressed in his doctor uniform, complete with his lab coat—he likely only recently finished his shift—with a hitai-ate pulled down to cover one of his eyes, the optimistic ex-Uchiha gave everyone a big grin. "Smells great in here, Itachi!"

With him now home that meant that nearly all of the last remaining Uchiha were here. Only Sasuke, who was at school, was not there.

I leaned back in my seat, letting out a soft sigh. "I suppose since everyone's here now we should begin."

"Are we not waiting for Kakashi?" Raion asked, confused. After he set down his bags he adjusted his civilian clothes: a long sleeved black turtleneck, with dark orange thick pants, and comfortable black sandals.

"Kakashi is helping Minato catch up on some paperwork so Minato can be here for the party," I explained. "Come along now, children, surely the five of us is plenty?"

Shisui gave me two thumbs up. "Heck yeah! I'll get the meat seasoned up so it'll be ready to grill."

"I'll work on the banners and decoration," Obito declared, eagerly digging through one of his numerous bags he had brought.

"I'll get the plates and stuff set up."

"I'll go finish wrapping the gifts, I guess," I concluded, "but after that I need to finish up some paperwork for the next council meeting."

Everyone grimaced at that, giving me a look of pity.

"I'm so happy I disbanded the Uchiha Clan," Obito sighed with relief. "Thanks for taking us in, oh fearless Clan Leader!"

"Yeah thanks for doing all the paperwork and politics for us," Shisui added, saluting me.

Itachi blinked once, slowly. "Thank you for going to the boring meetings for us."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, shooting Raion a smug look who was looking absolutely dejected. "Don't look so down, Raion! This'll all be yours soon enough."

"Please don't," he moaned. "Can I give my heir position to Naruto?"

"Nope."

"I was ten! I didn't realize what it would mean to be a clan heir," Raion tried to argue for himself.

My grin only stretched wider. "What a shame."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Congratulations!"

We all cheered as Sasuke, Naruto, and Minato came home that night, the two twelve year olds wearing big triumphant grins and proudly holding up their new hitai-ates. Naruto was bouncing up and down, his eyes shining like the sky, and he exclaimed, "One step closer to being the biggest legend this world has ever seen!"

Minato affectionately ruffled Naruto's hair. The Hokage has aged well this past decade, retaining much of his charm. The only signs of his age were the tips of silver hair starting to grow on top of his head. "Easy there, kiddo. Still a long way off."

"Yeah, your genjutsu is atrocious," Sasuke said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "You can't even do a simple clone."

"Shadow Clone is more than enough," Naruto argued. "Right, Tou-chan?"

"You still need to work on your chakra control," Minato said, "but that will come with time. Now let's go, I'm sure everyone is eager to celebrate with you."

Sasuke hurried over to Itachi's side, colliding with his older brother. Itachi pulled Sasuke in for a tight hug, whispering something in his ear. Shisui came up from behind and hugged both of them, causing Sasuke to laugh and try to squirm out.

Naruto jumped up to me, barreling his face into my stomach and wrapping his arms around me. I bent down to kiss the top of his head, patting his back. "Well done, my little sunshine."

Obito mimicked Shisui and hugged both of us. "Yeah, we couldn't be prouder, you little brat!"

"Eheheh!" Naruto was positively beaming under all the praise. Kakashi, not one for hugs, decided to reach forward and tap Naruto's head.

"Good job, pup," Kakashi said. "I'm proud of you for not killing your classmate, too."

"It was really hard," Naruto complained, "they're all so stupid."

"Naruto," Minato warened. "What did I say about calling your future comrades stupid?"

"Not to? But Nee-chan does it all the time."

I shrugged unrepentantly as Minato rolled his eyes. "Oops."

"Your sister is a mean demon princess, you can't follow her lead unless you also wanna be a demon," Obito explained to Naruto, a chirp in his tone.

There was a general consensus of agreement and I pretended to be offended. "I am not a demon!"

They gave me a flat look of disbelief.

"Okay maybe a little bit," I allowed.

Raion clapped his hands together. "Let's head out back to the grill now. Everyone's probably hungry, and while we make the food Naruto and Sasuke can open presents."

Naruto let out a big whoop, while Sasuke beamed.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The party went on until midnight and then we shuffled the boys off to bed, both still anxious to start their big shinobi careers in the next couple of days.

Afterwards the rest of us headed back down to the kitchen to unwind with warm tea, and some of Itachi's delightful snacks.

"Well, I guess now's a good a time as any to talk about team assignments," Minato remarked.

"Aren't you supposed to gather all the Jōnin who apply for a team and discuss it there?" Shisui questioned, leaning back in his chair as he chewed on a stick of pocky.

"And I will tomorrow, but," Minato said slowly, gesturing towards his own team, "these three get first picks."

"Blatant favoritism?" Raion guessed, half-amused.

"More like they're the only ones that can take on an idea I've had formulating for a while," Minato corrected, taking a sip from his tea. His lips twitched afterwards and he admitted, "but maybe a little favoritism, too. The only ones that have really been decided is that Naasica will take Naruto, and Obito will take Sasuke."

That was obvious. Only myself and Raion would have been suitable teachers for Naruto, and Raion was still acting as ANBU captain, and gearing to replace the current ANBU Commander. Raion's work on purging Konoha of ROOT had given him a legendary status amongst his colleagues, but he was still too young to take on the role of Commander.

Itachi had quit the shinobi force, and Shisui was nearly out of it himself, too. Since his kidnapping, and family massacre, the cheerful soul decided to spend the rest of his life healing others. He started training as an iryo-nin, and began taking shifts as a doctor at the main shinobi hospital. He rarely went out on missions, choosing instead to save as many lives as he could at home.

That really left only Obito who could, and would, devote time for Sasuke to learn how to utilize his Sharingan when the child activated it.

I fiddled with the long sleeves of my battle kimono, my fingers running along the silky smooth material.

It was Kushina's last gift to me. She designed it herself, with me in mind, and when I was done growing she and Minato would order it special made for me.

Minato held on to the blueprint all these years, and when I hit eighteen he had it specially made for me. It wasn't too different from her past choices for me. It was a proper battle kimono with the colors of the sunset, and beautiful red and orange flowers trailing down the end, and one covering my left breast.

The shoulders were kept exposed, and the sleeves had a wide opening at the top and bottom—they were long enough the very ends of the sleeves fell passed my knees and made it very easy to hide weapons inside. The kimono itself fell at my mid thighs, and I wore black leggings that ended at my knees underneath them, along with tall black kunoichi boots.

Underneath my kimono was a black shirt exactly like from my childhood. I kept my hair long, like Madara's, and I wore it up in either a ponytail or bun, with traditional hair sticks inside like Mito's.

All in all, I truly looked like an elegant, beautiful kunoichi. The effect was befitting someone of my status, and power.

The fact that it reminded me so much of Kushina that it warmed my heart helped, too.

It was just like her: bright, and beautiful.

I had proudly worn this outfit—making several others in case it became destroyed—and treated it with great care.

Anyone who dared to even bleed on it regretted it deeply.

Minato fished out a scroll from his pocket, placing it on the table and releasing the contents from inside of it. Dozens of folders appeared on our table, each one belonging to a different student who had passed the graduation exam.

Since the changes in the academy—thanks to mine, Minato's, and Obito's efforts—each students of this generation had been entered at the age of six. Due to this extra two years of training there was now an equal proportion of civilian graduates as there were clan-born.

These students also had to master the basic three, tree walking, and have a beginner's mastery (as in D-Rank or above) in one specialized skill.

Naruto, for example, was learning fūinjutsu. It was only natural given his heritage. He was at a solid C-Rank, but in terms of sheer instinctive creativity I'd place him at a low A-Rank. He had a few other tricks up his sleeve, but he only put down fūinjutsu on record, preferring to keep everything else close to his chest like a proper shinobi.

Sasuke, on the flipside, had worked hard to obtain his C-Rank of swordsmanship, and genjutsu.

Minato cleared his throat. "I selected you three especially for this experiment I want to try. You three make up one of Konoha's strongest units. Your teamwork is impeccable; you fight together, you live together, you're victorious together, and I suspect you will probably die together."

Kakashi responded dryly, "I hope not. I already get enough of these two, I don't want to have to deal with them in an afterlife."

Obito and I lightly hit Kakashi. He just took it easily, remaining perfectly stock-still and seemingly uncaring; however, after knowing him for so long, I could easily see the bemused spark in his eyes.

With a smile still on my face, I turned back to Minato and inquired, "So what do you want to experiment with us?"

"I want," Minato said carefully, "to have three teachers teach three teams... as one."

"What," Kakashi deadpanned.

"If all three of you pass your team," Minato went on, "then I want all three of you to work together and train the next generation together. Normally, one sensei would be assigned one team to work with. Individually, you are all excellent shinobi, but together you're something even greater. I want you to drill that lesson into this next generation. Each of you will technically have a team, but you will all work together as one."

"You want... us... to drill teamwork into nine different fresh Genin?" I repeated blankly. "As in... we pool them all together and work them as one team?"

Minato cocked his head. "Sort of. I want you to rotate and switch up the members of your team frequently. I want all of them to be able to work fluently with one another, and to really bring out the potential. It's been proven time, and time again, that while a shinobi—or kunoichi—can stand tall on their own, they are always more effective when working smoothly with team members. I want you to bring that about for this generation. Instead of just one team being superior to the others, I want three teams.

"I can't entrust this to any other shinobi, aside you three. No one else in Konoha has worked as smoothly and efficiently as you three do together. If anyone can instill teamwork into this generation, bring about their potential, and really make this generation shine... it's you three... together," Minato finished.

"Wow, no pressure," I lamented.

Minato smiled, while Obito laughed cheerfully. "Aw, jeez, Sensei, thanks. We got this in the bag, easy-peezy. So, uh, which lucky nine students shall we take under our wing?"

"That's for you to decide," Minato said. "Go ahead and take a look at the folders."

Kakashi, Obito, and I all reached for separate files and began to flip through them. Only a handful caught my attention, and by the time I had gone through them all, I had my preference set.

"Alright who gets to go first?" Obito asked brightly. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

"I have better idea: I want Sakura and Hinata," I said, picking up their two folders. "Sakura has a natural talent for academia, an eidetic memory, and specialized skill in genjutsu, C-Rank. Hinata, as Hyūga heiress, ranks as the top kunoichi for taijutsu, remarkable cooperative personality, and a specialized skill set in botany, ranking at a solid B."

"Wait, did you just say a Hyūga with a skill in botany?" Shisui snickered. "How does that happen?"

"Hiashi's wife, Hisana, was an ANBU assassin," I pointed out. "She was adept at poisons, doubling her effectiveness at close range with her gentle fist. Plus, you know... an assassin that uses gentle first makes it a bit obvious who the killer is, isn't it?"

Shisui inclined his head to me. "Point. So you think Hisana taught her?"

"More than likely," Minato said. "I forced her into early retirement around the time Hinata started attending the academy. The village was in a good state, there wasn't a need for her to keep taking such high risk missions."

"Still," Obito mused, "a Hyūga who used poisons, too? Talk about a nightmare in close range."

"I think it sounds like fun," I said cheerfully.

"You would," Kakashi and Obito muttered.

"Any objections?" I questioned, "or do I get them without a fight?"

Obito scratched his cheek, chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "To be honest I wanted Sakura, too. I was thinking about building a hunting team, and her talent in genjutsu would have been nice."

"But you already have Sasuke, and we both know he worships Itachi too much not to specialize in genjutsu," I argued. "If you have nothing but genjutsu specialists then your team will be too overstacked."

Obito waved me off. "Fine, take her."

"Thank you, I will."

"I'll take... Shino, and, hmm..." Obito peered through the folders again. "Ino."

"Why?" Minato questioned, wanting to hear Obito's reasons behind these choices."

"Shino's got an eidetic memory, and a calm personality. He's got a C-Rank in tracking, and it's noted he has a natural talent for strategy and advanced planning. I think he'd mesh well with Sasuke, to be honest. Ino's stats are actually rather poor, but she's at B-Rank in cryptology, C in intelligence gathering, and has begun an apprenticeship under her father for psychology. Her weakness in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu are things that I can work on, but her talent in the other fields makes her invaluable for a hunting team. It's also noted that she requested to work with Sasuke, so I bet she'll get along with the team just fine."

Minato smiled at Obito. "It's good that you have a strong idea in mind for your team already, but don't spend the whole time focusing on one build."

"Yeah, I mean," Kakashi looked around the table, "we weren't exactly a specialized team."

"Actually you were," Minato chuckled, "you were marked down as soft honey pots due to Naasica's talent in politics."

"Ew," Obito said, looking at me in distaste. "How dare you drag us into a honeypot team."

"I'm the only reason you're still on a team, dead last," I taunted.

Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Alright. My turn. I'm taking Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba. Shikamaru because I owe his father a favor, Chōji because the academy reports they're essentially a packaged deal, and Kiba because I'm one of the few outside of his clan that can teach him how to work with ninkin."

"Wait, you owe Shikaku a favor?" I questioned. "For what?"

"He looked into something for me," Kakashi responded, "and his wife wanted their son to have an instructor that wouldn't let Shikamaru get away with his laziness. Win-win."

"What did you need looked into?" Obito questioned, frowning. "And how come you didn't ask us? We're great at investigating!"

"Wasn't that kind of investigation," Kakashi said, "So, we'll grab everyone tomorrow afternoon, assess them, and discuss plans for them in the evening?"

I nodded. "Sounds good."

"Sweet. Let's beat up some twelve year olds," Obito declared with a cheer.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

When the night wore on and the children slipped into pleasant dreams, I left.

I reappeared soon enough in Amegakure, at the roof of one of the towers. This room I had made special for my dearest companion, and the man I respected and trusted more than anyone else in this world.

Madara Uchiha rested inside a stasis coffin, his corpse perfectly preserved and awaiting for when I would revive him with the Rinnegan in three years.

I had filled his room with my trees, flowers, and beautiful plants I had discovered over the years. His precious weapons adorned every branch, and only the barest of light was allowed inside this room of perfect darkness.

Not that he would be aware of all I had done for a while longer.

I could resurrect him through the imperfect technique of Unholy Resurrection, but there was no need for that. My master had been alive and awake for so very many years, I wanted to let him rest as long as I could before bringing him back into this disgusting world.

Besides, there was no real need for him at the moment. When the Akatsuki was finished forming and we began our hunt for the tailed beasts, I would bring him back.

Despite the fact that I knew logically there was no reason for Madara to be forced to stay any longer in this putrid world...

I still missed him.

At times of great importance, or when I felt overly stressed, I came here to his resting place and I drew comfort in his presence.

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" a voice drawled from behind me.

Only three others were allowed up here. Konan, Nagato, and Kisame.

Konan and Nagato never had reason to visit Madara, and Kisame only ever came for me.

Of course my partner stood at the doorway, grin on his face. Kisame stepped into the room, his Akatsuki cloak open and flowing behind him. "Yo."

"Hey," I said, smiling with genuine affection. "Aha, am I that obvious?"

"Today Naruto's graduated, right?"

"Yes."

"Then yeah, you're that obvious," Kisame said, nodding his head. "Need to talk?"

I let out a long sigh, dropping my shoulders. "No, I'm fine. I've had years to prepare for what is to come."

Kisame shrugged his shoulders, approaching me until he stood barely a foot away. "Wanna hunt some monsters?"

My smile twisted a little. "You always know how to make me feel better."

"You make it easy," Kisame returned, reaching around and resting his arm around my shoulders. "C'mon. I've already got the perfect one picked out for you."

I giggled at that.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I decided to be a prick and pick up my team that morning. Technically the rest of the Jōnin would be applying for their own children this morning and the team assignments wouldn't be given out until noon, at which point the teachers would make an announcement.

But I already had my team—with the Hokage's stamp of approval on it, too—and I wanted to give a more thorough assessment. So I waited for classes to start up for about ten minutes before I strolled right into the academy and headed towards Naruto's class.

I swung open the front door, and stepped inside, startling many of the students and causing Naruto's poor teacher (Iruka) stare at me with such a baffled expression. "S-Senju-sama!"

"I'm here to pick up my little meat bags," I told him with a sweet smile, holding out the paperwork. "That's okay, right?"

"I-I can hardly refuse," Iruka stammered out, accepting the paperwork. He eyeballed it real quick before turning back to the class and saying, "Naruto, Sakura, Hinata... all three of you please go with Senju-sama."

"Fuck," Naruto said, staring with abject horror at my bullwhip that I kept squarely on my right hip. My tessen was kept inside the sleeves of my kimono.

"Move, brats," I ordered. "All of you with me, now."

The three scrambled to gather their things, Naruto practically sprinting to reach me. The sweet boy was crossed between terrified, and positively ecstatic. He proudly wore the new outfit and gear we got him last night. A sleeveless orange vest with a high collar, thick military-grade black pants, and black arm guards with gloves that went up to his elbow. Inside of his vest he was able to keep twelve to twenty (depending on their sizes) scrolls of his own creation. Strapped onto his back, across his shoulder, was Kakashi's gift to Naruto: a customized tanto blade.

Hinata was the next to show up, proudly displaying the seal on her forehead.

It wasn't the Caged Bird seal, or whatever that sadistic shit was, but a new deviation that Minato had invented specifically for the Hyūga clan at Hiashi's request. All shinobi with dōjutsus had the option of having the seal—and they could choose where it was placed, so they could hide it—but the Hyūga clan made it mandatory that all of their clan members had it. It was a painless, efficient seal, that burned the eyes to the point of uselessness upon brain death.

The seal looked reminiscent of a pale silver crown, and Hinata—like her father and sister—wore it proudly on her forehead.

Something about being a symbol of equality between the branches, or something like that. I didn't pay much attention to the Hyūga internal affairs since it didn't really affect me.

Honestly the only reason I even knew that much was because Minato complained about how much of a headache the whole thing was. I guess some of the stodgy old bastards in the main branch threatened seppuku if it went through.

They were bluffing apparently.

No one died, sadly.

She reminded me a lot about her mother, actually, from the way she held herself. She favored a lilac-colored sleeveless hoodie that she wore over a long-sleeved black shirt. She had thick black pants that fell a little past her knees, and standard shinobi sandals. I noticed the thick black gloves she wore, and gave a mental note of approval. Too many kunoichi seemed hesitant to wear gloves early on because it was unlady like.

Morons.

Her hair was cropped short, and thusly kept out of the way.

If she was anything like her mother, she likely had plenty of senbon stashed away on her person, each laced with a different poison.

The last member of the team was the civilian born girl, and someone I knew I'd have to take a special interest in.

Unlike Naruto and Hinata, this tiny little child barely had any meat on her bones. A literal flick of my finger would send the girl careening through walls.

She wore a long red dress with slits on either side, and a pair of dark blue kunoichi pants underneath. I couldn't see any obvious weapon pouches, or... well, really anything of note about her.

She was clearly at an unhealthy weight for a kunoichi her age, and everything about her screamed dainty.

That's certainly not going to last long, I thought. By the time I'm through with her she'll be a proper kunoichi, ready to rip out the spine of her enemies and use it as a whip.

I had to admit I certainly liked the enthusiastic gleam in her eyes when she looked at me. Like a puppy looking at its new master.

This'll be fun, I thought with delight, resisting the urge to do my "evil princess laughter."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

This is the last outfit change for Naasica since she's officially done growing. Hooray! 

To confirm who lives at the Senju Compound and ages:

Naasica – Age: 26

Kakashi – Age: 26

Obito – Age: 26

Minato – Age: 37

Raion (AKA Tenzou / Yamato) – Age: 17

Shisui – Age 18

Itachi – Age: 17

Naruto – Age: 12

Sasuke – Age: 12

A lot has happened in the past decade, and I'm eager for you all to see the changes she has made to the storyline. This first chapter only gives a taste, so get ready for some pleasant surprises!

 **Answer:** Being able to manipulate reality as I see fit. Absolute power, I suppose, would be my motive. Why? Because I want to visit and live in all these fantastical worlds from stories I've come to love.

 **Question:** Movie for being a hero? Who, or what, would you want to save more than anything in this world?

Big beautiful fanart by MissNanamiChan on deviantART that features Naasica, Kushina, and baby Naruto. It's really, really wonderful, and I think it's a great encapulation of Naasica's mindset. Check it out if you can!

Reviews are **love**!


	28. Genin

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

" **How much should I repent?**

**How can I atone for the evil that I have done?**

**Who is it, the person, the one to forgive me when I forgive none?**

**Good and evil clash with God and these emotions.**

**No one yet can see that everyone has been disposed."**

**Sam Luff (Solitude)**

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I brought my team to my old training grounds, all of them remaining completely silent during the walk. Naruto was on hyper guard, half-expecting me to turn around and launch a small splinter bomb at him at any moment. Hinata was naturally a quiet child, and Sakura seemed to be overcome by a fit of shyness.

When we reached the training field—a nice wide area with fast-growing grass, three training stumps, a pond, and surrounded by trees—I beckoned for each of them to take a seat. They sat in front of me, Naruto once again looking around him for any unseen traps, and then I sat down.

My lips curled into a small smile, one I used to greet clients. "Hello. Let's start with introductions, shall we? I'm Senju Naasica, Head of Senju. I enjoy collecting traditional hairsticks, and spending time with my loved ones. I dislike anyone who stands in my way. I don't really have a dream, per say, but I do hope to one day make the world a better place. Naru-chan, why don't you go?"

Naruto grimaced at my nickname for him. The blond rocked back and forth and said, "I'm Senju Naruto, second heir to Senju. Uhum, I really like junk food, but my evil siblings don't let me have hardly any." He tossed a glare my direction, to which my smile only widened. "I like reading, and experimenting, though. I hate arrogant assholes. And I know I'm going to be the greatest shinobi to have ever lived. I'll surpass everyone in my family!"

 _Wouldn't that be something to see?_ I thought fondly. "Very good. Hina-chan?"

Hinata inclined her head in a very elegant manner. "I am Hyūga Hinata, heiress to the Hyūga Clan. I love training with my mother, and sister, and collecting rare plants. I'm very proud of our garden. I am not overly fond of bugs that eat my plants, though. I hope to one day be as strong and kind as my mother."

Considering Hisana was an ANBU Captain, that's a high bar. Although I wouldn't call any woman who invents poisons to prolong suffering before death _kind_.

"And Sakura-chan?"

Sakura straightened up, squaring her shoulders back, even as she fiddled with her fingers. "I-I'm Haruno Sakura, civilian born. I, um, I—" Sakura's brow furrowed as she thought about what to say. "—I like to read and learn about new things. I, uh, I don't like bullies. I want to be a strong kunoichi."

"Very admirable," I praised. "Today I'll giving you all a brief assessment of your skills. The academy report can only say so much, after all. Naru-chan, why don't you start with a demonstration of your skills?"

Naruto hesitated. "All of them?"  
"All of them, except your fūinjutsu. I'll regrow the trees if necessary," I assured him, glancing around at all the orange-leafed trees that I had already regrown in the past.

Naruto hopped up from his spot, meandering over to a safe distance. He rolled his shoulders, stretching out his arms and loosening his muscles. After a couple minutes of stretching, he let out a soft breath and began to run through handseals.

He sucked in a big gulp of air before spitting out a small condense bullet of air that completely exploded a row of five trees. Sakura gave a small yelp at that—after all, ninjutsu was something very rarely allowed in class—but Hinata only watched with polite interest, her hands folded neatly in front of her.

Naruto sucked in another deep breath before he let out a stream of sharp wind and whipped his head around, swinging that wind-whip through the trees and slicing through them.

He pulled his tanto and covered it in his chakra before he swung it down hard. Where he swung in the air, a slash of fūton chakra launched out in a arc from his attack, destroying yet another set of trees.

That was the end for his fūton repertoire, but Naruto went ahead and summoned a shadow clone that transformed into a small shuriken. Naruto threw that shuriken, and the shadow-clone-disguised-as-a-shuriken multiplied by a hundred and a barrage of shuriken fell upon the trees.

Naruto hesitated in showing much more, looking back towards me for approval.

"One more," I encouraged him.

With great reluctance, Naruto summoned forth his Rasengan and launched himself towards a tree.

The tree was completely destroyed upon impact.

"That's pretty much it. Shadow clone has a lot of versatility, so I can use all those attacks with the clones," Naruto said, shrugging with one shoulder. "Is that all, Nee—Sensei?"

"I believe so," I said. "Hina-chan?"

Hinata bowed towards me. "I'm sorry, Sensei. I do not know any ninjutsu, only my clan technique and poisons."

"Mm. I suppose that would be hard to show. How many poisons do you keep on you?"

"Only three," Hinata admitted. "I do use senbon, and I am learning chakra strings with Okaa-sama, but I am not yet proficient enough to utilize them."

"That's fine," I reassured her. "I'll leave that aspect up to Hisana-san, since she's much better at that than I. That being said, I do think you should have more long range in your arsenal than your poison-coated senbons, and chakra strings."

Hinata nodded, accepting this.

"Sakura-chan?" I inquired.

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip. "I, um, I don't know any ninjutsu outside the basic three. I can only use a couple genjutsu techniques."

"I see," was all I said. "If that's the case, then let's do a very simple physical test. All of you, give me five laps around the training grounds."

Sakura blanched, but Naruto already took off, Hinata right at his heels. I cleaned up the broken trees Naruto destroyed, regrowing those that were beyond repair.

Naruto and Hinata were both physically fit students. From what I gathered, Hinata received specialized training from her mother at a young age, and flourished under Hisana's specialized gentle fist which focused more on flexibility and fluidity, over the standard rigid gentle fist.

Naruto, I had a personal hand in training since he was small. I kept him on a proper diet (not too strict because children deserved their sweets), and a good exercise routine. Not hard enough to damage his muscles, but certainly enough to test his Uzumaki endurance.

I would place their physicality at high Genin.

Sakura, on the other hand...

Oh, boy, I was going to need to work with her a _lot_.

Her chakra control was damn good, already at A-Rank which was incredible for someone her age in this generation. Give her a few months under my care and she'd be S rank, if not SS in terms of chakra control. If her capacities were a bit bigger, I'd even start training her in fūinjutsu.

But she completely lacked any sort of durability. By the time Hinata and Naruto had completed their fifth lap, she was wheezing on her second.

Her fifth lap had her knees buckling, and her entire body trembling from exhaustion.

I rubbed my forehead with irritation, signaling for Naruto and Hinata to stop and for everyone to gather. All complied, albeit Sakura moving much more slowly than her clan-born and raised counterparts.

"Okay," I said, clapping my hands together. "Here's the thing... I've gotta meet with all of your parents to properly introduce myself, and all fun stuff. You're dismissed for now, but I expect you all here by five hundred tomorrow. Naruto, go see Shisui at the hospital before you go home, he wanted to talk to you."

Naruto saluted, not even out of breath.

"Hinata, I'll walk you home. Sakura... give your parents the heads up and make sure you're presentable when I come to you."

Sakura nodded, still gasping for air. "Y-Yes, S-Sensei."

"Good. Dismissed."

Naruto flickered away, and Hinata gave me a slight bow before walking away. I matched her pace while I reflected over the very brief assessment I had given them.

Naruto was the obvious choice for me. I had to take him as a member of my team regardless if I wanted to, or not.

Hinata was someone I knew. Since her father and I worked closely on the council, and there were times where our children had to tag along, Hinata and Naruto had become playmates. I knew the two of them would work well together, which was essential in any team.

And in many ways they reminded me of how Kakashi and I were at that age. They were dedicated, talented, and good friends.

Sakura was a bit of a wild card.

I didn't remember her very much. I knew she was... _someone_. I recognized that pink hair as... as belonging to... _someone_ , but I never associated her with anyone of importance.

A quick look at her report showed her to be a bland, brainy-type.

Sure, she _might_ have an eidetic memory—that was only what the report said, and it's not like she'd been tested in livefire to see if that was the case—and a good talent in chakra control... but that was it.

Her taijutsu was shit, her ninjutsu was nonexistent, she had a temper apparently, and everything about her screamed _pathetic_.

And that caught my interest.

A bland, plain, boring little girl thrown into a world of superpowered monsters.

How would she fair?

She'd be crushed. Raped. Beaten. Broken.

 _Dead_.

_She'd be exactly like all those other eight, seven, six, nine, ten year olds I had to bury in the field. Like those broken, listless, putrid corpses discarded once they stopped screaming and amusing their captors._

So I took her for myself. I plucked her from the clutches of a potentially ignorant, and incompetent Jōnin, and I claimed her.

Pathetic would not be a word anyone would ever describe Sakura when I was done with her.

There were other children, of course. Other civilian boys and girls deemed as _normal_ , but they all fared better in practicality. They all had an edge that would keep them alive, whereas Sakura really only had her fragile little mind.

They had a chance, where she did not.

Every day, and every night, I fought to protect innocent little children like her. When I failed, I claimed the monsters who took them.

But it would be so much better if they could defend themselves.

Really, if I didn't live such a time-consuming double life I would have become an academy instructor.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Hinata and I entered the Hyūga compound with experienced ease. Since I was now the guest, I allowed Hinata to lead me through the compound and into the main greeting room. I was entirely unsurprised to find Hisana and Hiashi already waiting for us, a pot of tea resting on the expensive table in front of them.

Hinata took her place beside Hisana, and I sat across from the three of them with perfect posture.

"Welcome, Senju-sama," Hiashi greeted me coolly.

"Thank you for seeing me, Hyūga-sama," I returned.

Hisana delicately cleared her throat. The matriarch's smile was warm, but her eyes were, as always, cold. "We are among friends, are we not? Let's dismiss the formalities now."

"As you wish," I demurred. "I am Hinata's new sensei."

"Unsurprising," Hisana answered briskly. "You had to have Naruto, and Hinata is one of the few classmates who has the experience to work with Naruto. I am surprised you did not receive Sasuke, as well, though?"

"Obito was deemed the better tutor for him," I answered.

"But you have trained Uchiha in the past, all of whom have become excellent shinobi," Hisana pointed out.

I could only shrug in response. "Hokage-sama decided Obito should train Sasuke."

"Mn," came Hisana. "You are aware of how I will be training Hinata?"

"Through your style of the gentle fist, and a focus on poisoned senbon. You also incorporate chakra strings to control the senbon after launch," I surmised. "Therefore, I will focus an emphasis on long range control, and disengage."

"Disengage?" Hiashi repeated.

"Correct. Hinata will already be gaining a large arsenal of offensive attacks, and her defensive techniques learned through the clan will take up a lot of her chakra. I have some ideas that will be less... intensive."

"Excellent," Hisana chirped, eyes like ice. "I know we couldn't ask for a better instructor. You'll undoubtedly keep our dear daughter safe, won't you?"

I smiled at that. "When I'm done with her, she won't need protecting."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I lingered for a few more minutes at the Hyūga residence before I headed off to Haruno.

To my surprise, Mebuki, Sakura's mother, was eagerly awaiting for my arrival. She ushered me in, along with her tired daughter, and had me take a seat at the dinner table. She brought out a tea tray, all the while merrily chatting about her daughter and how proud she was of her.

It would have been endearing, if I wasn't already irritated with the woman.

When Mebuki finally took a seat, I pulled out a small scroll from my right sleeve and placed it on the dinner table. "Mebuki-san, would you please look through this?"

Curious, Mebuki placed her teacup down and reached across the table to take the scroll. She unrolled it quickly, frowning as she read its contents. "This looks like a food plan?"

"Correct. I'm afraid your daughter is dangerously underweight for being a kunoichi," I said, not unkindly.

Both Sakura and Mebuki gasped, completely astounded by this very idea.

"Underweight? But she's been watching her calorie intake for years," Mebuki fretted, looking worriedly over at her daughter.

"For a civilian that would be fine," I said, "but I'm afraid as a kunoichi she's eating too little. Her body is being starved from the severe lack of fats and protein, and now that she's become a Genin she can't play around anymore."

"But I don't want to get fat," Sakura blurted out, her bright green eyes shining. "Sasuke-kun will never notice me, then!"

I resisted the urge to show her my full displeasure at that completely moronic, childish, petulant statement. Instead, I settled for awarding her with the coldest, cruelest glare I had cultivated over the years. Pure disdain and disgust gleaned from my eyes and I curled my lip back and said, "Are you honestly going to imply that the only reason you're a kunoichi is for some boy?"

Sakura shrunk under my glower, tears pricking at her eyes as the blood drained from her face. "N-No, S-Sensei."

I was silent for a moment, considering my next approach. Finally, dropping my glare, I said, "Sakura, leave your mother and me alone for a moment. Get ready to go on a trip, too."

Sakura hesitated for a moment, but then she got up and left. I waited until I felt her chakra head up into her bedroom before I swung my thunderous gaze towards Mebuki, and the woman flinched away from me. "And you allow her this delusion, Mebuki-san? She's twelve."

"I-It's only a harmless crush," Mebuki stammered out, squirming.

"That she has starved herself for, and crippled her development as a kunoichi. I know the academy had sent home multiple meal plans for each student. Did you think yourself the exception to the rule, or perhaps that you knew better than professionals?" I snarled at her.

Mebuki shook her head, trembling from the onslaught of my quiet anger.

"Let me make myself perfectly clear," I said slowly, thoroughly disgusted by the sheer imbecile of this woman, "Sakura has great potential to become a powerful kunoichi. I will not see that squandered. You will follow my meal plans, and if I catch so much of a hint as dieting I will have her removed from your care, Mebuki-san."

"Wh-What?!" Mebuki demanded, whimpering when I looked back at her. "B-But she's m-my—"

"You're an adult who should have known better," I returned icily. "And most importantly of all a mother who only gets in the way of her daughter is the absolute _worse_. All you'll ever do is bring her pain if you stand between her and her dreams."

_I'll see you skinned alive and gutted before I watch any child go through that._

A mother who was only in the way was more than a nuisance.

A mother who forced her child to choose between her and her dreams was worse than scum.

 _I'll tie your limbs to horses and have you pulled apart,_ I thought venomously. _Then I'll stitch you back together and do it all over again. Over, and over._

Before I accidentally leaked any murderous desire, I dropped my glare and rewarded her with a fake, bright smile. "You understand now, though, don't you? You'll make sure Sakura-chan gets her appropriate meals, and you won't be in her way... right?"

"Yes," Mebuki whispered, tears in her eyes. Her hands trembled as she gripped them tightly together. "Pl-Please d-don't take her from me."

"I have little tolerance for adults who only hinder their children's dreams," I said simply. "Hate me if you want, but I'm doing this for Sakura-chan's best interest. You want her to succeed, don't you?"

Mebuki nodded, biting her lip hard to hold back the onslaught of tears that would inevitably come.

"Then don't fuck her over," I said pleasantly. "I'll be taking Sakura-chan shopping to get her clothes that won't make it easy for enemies to rape and kill her."

All the blood drained from Mebuki's face, and a strained choke sob escaped her. I stood up from my spot at the dinner table, giving her a warm smile, and reaching over to pat her cheek. She cringed away from me, but I still touched her cheek. "There, there, Mebuki-san. We wouldn't want Sakura-chan to see you upset now, would we?"

With a hum in my heart, I turned away and headed out of the room. I called up to Sakura from upstairs. "Come down, Sakura-chan. I'm going to take you shopping."

"Shopping?" Sakura squealed, rushing down the steps. "Really?"

"Really. We'll be getting you a proper kunoichi outfit and some supplies."

"Oh, wow, thanks, Sensei! Oh—um, is that okay, Kaa-chan?"

Mebuki would not turn around to address her daughter. Instead, she said with obviously forced cheer, "Of course, my little blossom. Have fun with Senju-sama."

Sakura looked a little perturbed by her mother, but then I took her small, dainty little hand and she was back to looking at me with plain admiration. I escorted her out of the house, and she told me, "Y'know, Sensei, I hope I can be just like you. I-I do like Sasuke-kun, but t-to be honest..." Sakura's cheeks turned red and she shyly looked at the ground. "I've always admired you. When I read about everything you've done for the village, and then I saw you in person..."

Sakura trailed off, a cute little smile on her face as she shuffled her feet. "You're beautiful and strong. I want to be just like you."

That made me smile in amusement, and I bent down to be at eye-level with Sakura. "You know something, Sakura-chan?"

"Uh-huh?"

"I chose you," I told her. Then deciding a little white lie wouldn't hurt I went on, "Out of every single one of the graduates, I chose you because I could see what potential you have. The path ahead of you will be hard, but if you allow me to guide you... I will lead you to greatness."

Sakura's eyes shined with unshed tears, her whole demeanor brightening up like a sunrise. "R-Really?"

"I promise. And I don't break my promises." I offered her my hand once again. "Come here, Sakura-chan, and let me take care of you."

Sakura took my hand, continuing to look at me with innocent adoration.

The first thing Sakura needed was proper clothes. I brought her into the best armor store in Konoha, and she took everything in with wide, wide eyes. She did a double-take when she saw some of the prices, spluttering, "S-Sensei, I couldn't possibly—"

"Now, now," I soothed, "I'm afraid I really must insist. Good clothes and armor are essential for a young kunoichi, and as your sensei it's my duty to make sure you are prepared. Now help me pick out something you would like."

Sakura hesitantly started to browse, but she kept flinching when she saw the price tags. I watched her roam around, noting when her eyes lingered a little longer over a couple pieces of clothing. After I gave her a solid twenty minutes to browse, I picked out the stuff she eyed the most, and took them to the counter.

Sakura trailed behind me, looking like she wanted to protest, but knowing it would be a waste of time.

"I'll need multiple copies of these made," I told the owner, who greeted me with a smile, "and please set up Sakura-chan on my tab."

"S-Sensei!"

"The other Genin will also be getting their supplies here. You don't have a shinobi family to help you with this, so I'm taking over," I dismissed. "Don't skimp out, I can handle it."

Sakura chewed on her lip, not one to argue against an authority figure.

"Senju-sama, would you like us to include a repair kit?" the cashier inquired. "Sakura-san's extra sets will be available in a couple days, would you like them delivered to her home address, or yours?"

"Include a repair kit—I'll show you how to use one, Sakura-chan—and please have them sent to her address," I said. The cashier handed me the appropriate paperwork and I quickly filled everything out. Once that was done, I had Sakura change into one of the outfits before we moved on, to make sure it fit well enough to not require tailoring.

The young girl came back out dressed in long black leggings, a flat light-red skirt with slits on the side, a matching sleeveless shirt, and unattached red sleeves with built-in arm guards, The ensemble was complete with black gloves, and black boots that doubled as shin-guards.

Sakura beamed at herself in the mirror. "This looks great, Sensei!"

"Of course it does," I said. "Come along now, Sakura-chan. We have a couple more places to hit."

"Yes, Sensei."

Next stop was a haircut, which Sakura only briefly protested against before my glare cut her off. Her hair was chopped off to be above the shoulder, and I told her when she became a stronger kunoichi she could grow it back out.

Once that was taken care of, I dragged her over to the weapons store and said, "Pick out two."

"But I only know how to use kunai and shuriken."

"I know. I'm going to correct that."

Sakura swallowed and browsed around for a solid half hour before she returned, tentatively, with a pair of daggers, and a long whip.

I inclined my head, recognizing that she likely chose the whip out of admiration for me. "Alright, come with me."

Sakura followed behind me closely, holding the beautiful weapons to her chest. I took her behind the counter, guiding her to a small workroom where Takasu, owner of the shop, was currently working on a commission.

"Takasu," I interrupted, "would you please commission some weapons for my student?"

The large, dark-skinned man turned around and gave us a once-over look. He said, "Some daggers and a whip for her?"

"Yes."

"I'll have them ready in a week."

"Thank you. Sakura-chan put those down. Your real weapons will be ready later."

"Yes, Sensei," Sakura said, hurriedly placing down the display weapons.

I smiled at her. "Good. Now head home, Sakura-chan. You'll be in for a rough ride while we bring your body up to snuff."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I walked into my home, only just remembering it was my turn to go grocery shopping. Before I could turn back around and head out, I began to hear some very odd grunting sounds.

Curious, I headed further in, entering into the living room to find Naruto and Shisui dancing terribly while glaring at one another. Obito was on the couch, a hand over his chin as he, with a completely serious look on his face, studied the two of them.

Itachi sat perfectly still beside Obito, his face twisted into pain as he watched Naruto and Shisui.

"Uh," I said, drawing their attention towards me.

"It's a dance off," Shisui said, starting to wave his arms erratically in the air, "and I'm about to win!"

"The hell you are!" Naruto exclaimed, dropping down to the ground and doing an impressive worm. "Eat worms, fuckface!"

" _Language_ ," I immediately scolded.

Itachi caught my eye, the poor boy mouthing: _Help me_.

Taking pity on him I said, "Itachi, why don't you help me go grocery shopping?"

"Yes, thank you," Itachi breathed with relief, standing up and rushing over to me.

"I'll catch up with you later, hime," Obito told me, "and we'll help carry everything back."

Immediately understanding that the _we_ Obito used referred to him and Kakashi—who was likely still helping Minato with paperwork so he could come home on time for dinner—I inclined my head. "C'mon Itachi, let's get some dangos and tea before we go."

Itachi perked up at that, "Yes, Shishō!"

Since Itachi and I had stopped for dangos and tea before shopping, it wasn't too surprising that Obito was already at the store. The goggle-obsessed man had a single basket filled with junk food, and was talking to a young woman.

A young woman who was looking at Obito wil plain adoration, and not the idolizing kind. The kind that meant she wanted to be a little more than friend.

Welp.

I sent Itachi off to start the shop, while I dealt with this whore.

I hooked my arm through Obito's, giving the woman—oh, wait, that was Rin—who was talking to him a look of irritation.

Rin blushed under my scrutiny, holding her shopping basket closer. "O-Oh, Senju-sama, hello."

"Can my boyfriend and I help you?" I asked her pointedly.

Then Kakashi appeared on Obito's other side, slinging an arm around his shoulder. "Can my boyfriend and girlfriend help you?"

Rin's cheeks turned redder than tomatoes and she rapidly shook her head. "N-No, I-I was only t-talking to O-Obito-kun about Sh-Shisui."

"Isn't he a bit too young for you?" I asked coldly.

"Now, now," Obito said, moving his arms around to put them on Kakashi's waist, and mine. "Your jealousy is showing, guys. She's just being nice."

Kakashi and I didn't say anything, continuing to half-heartedly glare at Rin until the woman took the hint and scurried off. Obito watched his ex-crush leave, sighing.

"What am I going to do with you two?" Obito asked, looking up to the sky.

"You do the same thing every time we have a suitor," Kakashi retorted. "Don't even."

"Well," Obito said, before his shoulders dropped. "Yeah. I guess I do."

"We're a hot mess of possessiveness," I remarked. "Like dogs marking their territory."

"We've been at this for ten years, though, we really shouldn't be."

"Oh, yeah," I said, recalling that we _had_ reached the ten year mark in our _eccentric_ relationship. "Hey how come Obito hasn't proposed to us, yet?"

"Wha—Why do _I_ have to propose?"

"Because you're lucky to have us," Kakashi reasoned.

Obito considered this, then nodded his head. "Will you guys do me the honor of being my best friends in the whole wide world for all of eternity?"

Kakashi mock sniffled. "I thought you'd never ask."

I wiped away a fake tear. "What a beautiful day. I love you both."

Obito started to fan himself. "I can't believe this day actually came... _fiances_."

That warranted some shit-eating grins from us.

As much as Minato wished the three of us were properly dating, what we had going on was even better, in my opinion.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

At midnight Obito, Kakashi, and I headed out to the training grounds we told our teams to meet at later that day. We went through the forest, and set up numerous traps—all non lethal— and discussing our team.

Kakashi started it off, tying a wire around some branches. "Assessment?"

"Naruto and Hinata are where I expected them to be, but Sakura is going to require some heavy remedial work for at least a month," I said. "Physically, she's way too behind."

Obito groaned. "Yours, too? Ino's the same."

"Don't tell me: civilian diet?"

At Obito's nod, I scowled. "Inoichi screwed over his daughter by spoiling her too much. Did you already talk to the parents?"

"Yeah," Obito sighed. "The mom will make sure Ino eats, and Inoichi was definitely apologetic."

"Did you warn them?"

"I threatened you would be by next," Obito said with a cheeky grin.

"Hopefully they'll remedy it. Do you have a plan for Ino?"

"I'll do what you did for me," Obito answered. "That should be enough, right?"

"It'll do. It might be best if I took Ino for a while and gave her and Sakura some one-on-one practice," I mused. "The two might feel better about being so far behind if they can share in their misery. Or it'll help keep them motivated if they aren't the _only_ ones doing remedial work."

"Then can you take Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked. "He's... well, frankly he's one of the most out of shape graduates I've seen. I know the Akimichi are known for being a big clan, so I'm not sure what's healthy or what's not for Chōji. I'd prefer if he had more muscle than fat, though."

"Hm. Alright," I agreed. "You two will have to take Naruto and Hinata while I work with the others, then. Are they at least geared appropriately? I had to take Sakura shopping earlier."

"Chōji could use some more body armor," Kakashi admitted, "and Kiba had next to nothing, but I'll take them shopping later today after the assessment."

"We know Sasuke's fine, and Shino actually was, too. Maybe a bit over prepared if anything. It's really only Ino on my team that's... kind of pathetic. She may have some great unique skills, but she's completely spoiled. She wouldn't even cut her hair."

"Then _make her_ ," I stressed.

"If I did that Inoichi would skin me alive," Obito protested.

"He doesn't get a say anymore since he let his daughter starve herself for some boy," I snarled viciously.

"Calm down, Naasica," Kakashi advised. "I'm sure Ino will get a haircut for you tomorrow."

"Ah-ah," I said, clicking my tongue. "Obito, _you_ better make damn sure her hair is cut off _today_."

Obito whined, but agreed.

Come five hundred, we headed back to the training field to find the first of our students arriving.

So the three of us took a seat in the trees, repressing our chakra and scents, and watched them.

It'd be neat if one of them spotted us, but that was doubtful to happen. If they _did_ spot us, we'd give them a bonus. Like buy them lunch, or something.

Come six hundred all the students had arrived, each one of them struggling to stay away.

Except Naruto and Sasuke who were looking around with suspicious eyes.

Eventually they started chatting with one another, but it wasn't anything of interest until...

"Well _I_ heard all of our teachers are dating each other," Ino said, tossing her hair back.

"No, they ain't," Naruto disagreed. "They're just _really_ close."

"But they always go on dates with each other," Ino retorted, "and they literally call each other boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Look," Naruto said forcefully, "there's nothing serious going on between them. Trust me. I've lived with them my whole life, and while they might very well decide one day they all want to get married, that isn't happening any time soon."

"Their whole relationship is built on them not wanting others to ask them out," Sasuke added. "Nee-chan still gets a _lot_ of marriage proposals, and it's easier when she goes to court if she has two concubines."

"Concubines?" Sakura repeated, her face turning red. "S-So d-do th-they...?"

Naruto and Sasuke turned green, but refused to answer that question.

Not that they would have ever known. Sex was something that always had to be done out of the house and far, far away from the children under our care.

Especially since Naruto knew how to open fūinjutsu locks, and Sasuke had a habit of playing ninja and breaking into locked rooms.

Obito covered his mouth as he quietly shook, struggling to hide his laughter at Naruto and Sasuke's queasy looks. "Those brats haven't even heard anything!"

"The very idea of it makes them sick," Kakashi remarked, looking entirely beside himself with amusement.

"How rude," I said, shaking my head. "Unfortunately, we weren't born asexual."

We all sighed at that, wishing we could indeed repress our hormones. Well, Kakashi and I sighed. Obito was pretty dang happy about _his_ hormones, the pervert.

"Can we change the subject?" Naruto pleaded, clutching his stomach. "I don't wanna think about that nasty stuff."

"It's not nasty," Hinata corrected Naruto, "it's perfectly natural. Okaa-sama said it's common for teams to develop non-commitment intimate relationships as they mature, since trust is a rare thing to find outside of your team."

Sakura and Naruto both looked red-faced and sick. Ino, on the other hand, was blushing furiously as she looked over at Sasuke, who was holding his hand over his mouth and trying not to get sick.

"Uh, I don't swing that way," Kiba told his teammates, "sorry."

"Ugh," Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Think we should step in now?" Kakashi asked.

"Are you kidding? Look at how they're traumatizing themselves, this is great," Obito chortled.

"Who knew our relationship would be the reason our future Genin traumatized themselves," I mused, struggling to keep the smile off my face.

"I never thought I would ever hear those words," Kakashi remarked, sounding astounded. "I'm not looking forward to the puberty talk."

"Oh, I'll handle the kunoichis," I said, hoping I might be able to make them cry profusely like Kushina did with me.

"Urk. I don't wanna talk to Naruto, or Sasuke about that kind of stuff. It was awkward enough with Raion and Itachi!"

I reached around and patted my dear teammate's shoulder. "There, there."

"Let's put a pin this discussion for later," Kakashi suggested. "C'mon. I wanna hear them scream and beg for mercy."

"And you call _me_ evil!" I laughed.

The three of us left our hiding spots in the trees, startling nearly half of our students.

Obito chirped. "Morning, everyone! Any questions before we get started?"

Ino held up her arm straight away. "Senseis, are you dating each other?"

"Yes," we all said, because that's what we told everyone.

Ino shot Naruto a smug look.

Shisui entered the training ground, carrying a bag of medical supplies. As soon as Naruto and Sasuke saw Shisui—and the bag—they both looked _extremely_ worried. The other students didn't recognize Shisui, so they didn't understand why he was there.

Shisui had a big smile on his face. "Hey, guys. Sorry if I'm late."

"Why are you here, Nii-chan?" Naruto asked nervously.

"Shisui-chan has kindly agreed to fix you all up if you get too bagned up," I chirped, smiling at Shisui who beamed at me.

Shisui patted his bag of medical supplies. "That's right. Merely a precaution. I'm sure _none_ of you will need medical attention."

Obito cleared his throat.

"Ino-chan," Obito chirped, clapping his hands together, "Can you lift your ponytail up for me? Grab it by the end?"

"Huh?" Ino blinked, grabbing the tip of it and doing as instructed. "Like this?"

Fast as a heartbeat, Obito had flung a shuriken at her hair and effectively chopped off her ponytail. Ino's shrill scream of horror made me itching to clip her vocal chords, but I refrained.

" _Enough_ ," Obito said, cutting Ino's scream off with his sharp glare. "I warned you yesterday to get it chopped off. If you aren't going to follow instructions, go be a civilian."

Ino's bottom lip trembled, but she bit on it hard enough to keep her tears at bay.

Kakashi stepped forward, deciding to move the lesson forward.

"Monday through Fridays you'll be with your regular team," Kakashi said loudly. "Saturday you'll receive special instructions, and Sunday, today, is when we will pool you all together and give you an assessment."

"This assessment determines if you get to do missions next week, or not," Obito said, wicked grin on his face. "Fail, and you'll be stuck training the entire week. Succeed, and you'll get to take missions in the morning."

"Of course you have to succeed at least three times before you get to take anything more than D," I purred, my lips curling into a devilish smile. "But I doubt that will happen any time soon."

Kiba scoffed, puffing up his chest. "We'll get this done first try! What's the stupid test?"

"Oh it's very simple," Kakashi said, nodding his head. He gestured towards the forest behind us. "We've set up a few obstacles in there, and at the very center there are some flags. Get through the obstacles, grab a flag, and make it back. That's it."

"Of course if any one of your teammates becomes incapable of moving—either because Shisui has to stop and heal you, or exhaustion—you have to start all the way over," Obito elaborated. "Easy, yeah?"

Most of the students looked confident after that explanation.

In fact, all of them did except Naruto and Sasuke.

Those two were looking at us with grim acceptance.

"There is one _tiny_ little handicap," I said, pinching two of my fingers and grinning with malice. "We'll be tying you by your ankles to your teammates, and you'll be blindfolded."

 _Oh_ that silence was delicious. Their looks of horror—although Naruto looked immeasurably relieved that was the only thing we would add on—and gaping mouths were hilarious.

In fact, Obito started laughing right then and there. "AHAHA! Look at them, Oni-hime! I've figured out why you loved torturing me now. Was I this funny?"

"You were a blast," I admitted, chortling.

"B-But that's impossible," Ino yelped.

"Nope," the three of us chorused.

"We could do it at your age," Kakashi said, neglecting the fact that two of us were prodigies and were Jōnin by their age. "We wouldn't make you do anything we couldn't do."

"You were already a Jōnin!" Naruto howled, pointing an accusatory finger at us. "You're just plain sadistic!"

"Yeah," we agreed, since... well, it _was_ true.

"Oh and one other thing," Obito added slyly, "no talking. Every time you make a noise, we'll purposefully land a hit on one of your joints. Trust me. It'll hurt."

"H-How long are we going to be doing this?" Ino whimpered.

"Since we have our very own medic on hand... until you _literally_ can't anymore." I clapped my hands. "Won't this be _fun_?"

Sasuke hesitantly asked us, "Are you guys going to be attacking us while we go through the forest?"

"Oh, most definitely," Obito agreed. "Don't worry, we won't go above Genin level for this exercise, so it's perfectly possible to dodge our attacks."

The poor things didn't look so confident.

We had everyone group together with their team, before we approached them with the ropes and blindfolds we had brought.

"Your team is only as strong as your weakest link," I said, tying all their ankles together, with Sakura at the center. Then I handed each of them a blindfold and Naruto groaned loudly when he realized what we would be doing.

"Don't bother with your Byakugan. They're coated in chakra seals, so you won't see anything past them," I said, helping Hinata tie the blind over her eyes.

Once everyone was situated, Obito blew the whistle for them to start.

None of them even got to the halfway point.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The Akatsuki tower as at the heart of Amegakure, towering above all other skyscrapers. It loomed above citizens, made up of steel and concrete. There were many roads to get to the Akatsuki tower, since it acted very similarly to a hokage tower. At the bottom of the tower was where our shinobi and kunoichi received their missions, and above them was many of our research labs—although some of the more important ones were in the basement—and finally above that was the Akatsuki quarters.

The Akatsuki, the vanguard of Ame's God and his angels.

Only the strongest shinobi and kunoichi could join the Akatsuki. Many tried. Nearly all failed.

Since Amegakure had become a place of refuge we had a good influx of missing-nin—nearly all from the destroyed Kirigakure—who came and settled with us.

It was actually very easy to get into Amegakure, but it was impossible to leave without permission. Permission was only given to Jōnin and above. Even our merchants, who reluctantly had to leave the city, did so under extremely heavy guard, and was usually joined by a pair of Akatsuki members.

We didn't want any information to get out about exactly how big we had gotten, or how many shinobi and kunoichi we truly had.

Most missions were conducted in our boarders, but some missions offered too good of pay to refuse. Half the money we made outside of Amegakure through those missions went directly to funding Amegakure.

And while most of Amegakure was nothing by skyscrapers, there was plenty of farm lands around us, too. We used to have to import a lot of food and goods, but not any more.

Amegakure had finally become entirely self-sufficient.

And everyone knew it was thanks to God and his angels of Black and White.

All along the streets one could find many black and white paper angels hanging in windows, or doors.

_Hang the Angel of White for good fortune, and may she turn her gaze upon you._

_Hang the Angel of Black for protection, and may he purge those who would harm you._

There were no markers for Pein, their _god_ , because he never ventured from his tower. He dedicated his time to being a persistent sentinelle of the city, watching each person who enters... and each one who leaves.

_May the angels save us, and God protect us._

It was perturbing to be one of those angels, and to see Pein as a god. Especially since I knew he was little more than tool for Madara and myself. If anyone deserved godhood, it would have been my master, but that would not be happening for a while longer.

I visited Amegakure when I could. Often times after I went to sleep—around twenty two hundred—I would leave a clone in my place for slipping back to Amegakure as Owari. I trusted Kisame to keep things running smoothly in my place, but it was still good to check in as often as I could.

The main goal of my visit that night was to see how the research department was doing, so I teleported directly to my room in the Akatsuki tower, and began my descent to the researching labs.

"O-Owari-sama!" Guren greeted, stumbling in surprise to see me. Her cheeks dusted pink, and her eyes were wide with open adoration. Sasori's Akatsuki partner was obviously very happy to see me. "You're back from your mission?"

Guren, Kurisu's older sister, had grown up into a fine young woman. She kept her blue hair in a spiky ponytail, and wore her Amegakure hitai-ate proudly over her forehead. She dressed in a more tom-boy style, but I thought it suited her very well.

"For now," I answered her. "Are you well, Guren-chan?"

"Yes, of course, Owari-sama," Guren said quickly, her eyes bright. "I—"

Whatever Guren wanted to say was cut off when Mei Terumi, Deidara's partner in the Akatsuki, strode into the room with confidence that would make most women envious. The yoton user was always dedicated to looking as gorgeous as possible, growing out her long dark red hair, and wearing a light touch of makeup. Even in her short Akatsuki cloak—all Akatsuki cloaks acted more like a poncho, only falling midway down to allow easier maneuverability—she presented herself as a powerful, beautiful woman.

Upon seeing me, Mei's face lit up and she exclaimed, "Owari-sama! You're back."

"For now," I said, unminding as Mei hurriedly attached herself to my right arm. "You're looking very well, too, Mei-chan."

Mei held my right arm close, ignoring how Guren glowered hatefully at her. Mei smiled seductively at me, purring, "You sure you can't stay, Owari-sama? It's been _ages_ since our last training session."

Guren abruptly grabbed my left arm, pulling me towards her and scowling at Mei. "Owari-sama is too busy for _you_ , Mei."

"Eh? You're not too busy for _me_ , are you, Owari-sama?"

I resisted the urge to sigh. I had brought both of them into Amegakure as young girls—Guren was eleven, and Mei was twelve—and gave them personal training when I could. Guren was the sister of Kurisu, and was immediately taken with the idea of changing the world for the better. When I saw her natural talent as a kunoichi, and her kekkei genkai—shoton, crystal release—I took a personal interest in her. I trained her when I could, and when I had to devote time elsewhere Konan picked up the slack.

Guren proved herself time and time again to be a resourceful, loyal, and powerful young woman. A couple years ago we finally deemed her strong enough to join the coveted ranks of the Akatsuki.

Mei, like Guren, was someone I had also trained. I knew Mei was a powerful kunoichi—she had been Mizukage before, if I recalled correctly—and I was more than happy to cultivate her loyalty to us, and her power. She rose through the ranks with a fervor and even tried to fight Kisame for the position of being my partner.

He completely annihilated her, but she put up a good enough showing to become Deidara's partner in the Akatsuki.

Unfortunately the two girls simply didn't like each other. They were always competing, bickering, and trying to one up each other in a vain attempt to grab my affection.

I understood _why_ they were doing it. Both were orphaned at a young age, I had rescued them from terrible fates, brought them someplace safe, and gave them a purpose.

Although I did like to imagine that they both genuinely believed in my cause, too, and weren't simply following me out of affection, but it was hard to say.

"Guren-chan, Mei-chan, I'm afraid I have to go check on Kurisu-kun now," I said, gently untangling myself from their grips. Both women pouted, but I was not someone dissuaded by pouty faces. Still... I amended, "If I have time after making my rounds, I'll be delighted to oversee a sparring sessions between the two of you."

They beamed.

_Like puppies, I swear._

"I suppose you could come see me wipe the floor with Guren-chan's face. It might even improve her appearance," Mei chirped.

"Big talk for such an old hag," Guren snarked.

_I'm older than both of you..._

I bit my inner cheek from saying that, though, choosing instead to make my escape while the two of them started bickering again.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Kurisu's lab was on the upper levels, and his office had a beautiful view of Amegakure.

He was standing in front of that open window when I entered his office. The young man stood tall, and proud, a far cry from the broken boy I had rescued over a decade ago.

"What a truly wonderful place this is," Kurisu remarked, his unseeing eyes gazing out across the city. Since everything was bathed in chakra, he could "see" through his chakra sense.

"Soon, the whole world will be like this," I murmured, folding my hands in front of me. "How are you, Kurisu-kun?"

He swung his head toward me, smiling with warmth. "Same as always, Owari-sama."

"The nightmares are still gone?"

"Yes. In my dreams a black angel chases them all away," he said quietly, "Thank you for asking, Owari-sama."

"Of course. You are my subordinate, and I will do what I can for you," I responded. "Please take care of yourself."

"You are truly too kind," Kurisu said a small smile on his face. "We are blessed to have you watch over us. But, please, be at ease. We work hard to repay what you have done. You, who came for us, and saved us, when on else would. We were forgotten trash, discarded scum, but you gave us life and purpose."

I lowered my head, speaking barely above a whisper, "I did what anyone should have done... How goes your work?"

"We have made good breakthroughs in mutation," Kurisu said confidently, proudly. His chest puffed up a bit and his shoulders squared back. "The Acolytes of the Black Angel will not disappoint, I swear."

Their self-appointed name still rubbed me the wrong way, but I knew better than to protest it again. Those that I had saved from monsters during the war had congregated to Amegakure. They flocked together, broken little children with nowhere else to go. The only thing they had in common was how much the world fucked them over, and that I, their Black Angel, had saved them.

With religious zealot, they devoted themselves to my cause. Some for the same reasons I had: they wanted a better world. Others because they had nowhere else to go.

Here, in Amegakure, they were safe, protected, and cherished.

Many of them were too crippled to fight, so they put trained their minds instead. They devoted themselves to research and development with a fervor not seen in ordinary folk. Kurisu became their leader, designating each group to a certain aspect.

Group Liberation researched the ideal way to remove bijū, repress bijū, and find bijū.

Group Purge researched bioweapons that we could unleash upon the village to severely weaken their force. They were currently hoping to mutate a strand of the pox, in addition to different poison gases that could be used effectively.

Group Obliteration researched weapons of mass destruction, both inventing and finding pre-existing ones to be used.

Group Redemption worked with doctors and iryo-nin to perfect our health care system. After the war, we would have a lot of injured men and women who would require immediate care, after all. We wanted to make sure everything went smoothly afterwards.

Group Shadow acted as one of our spy network, mostly through trade and merchants.

By the time the war rolled around, or we were ready to hunt the bijū, we would be more than prepared.

"I'm glad progress is being made. Are all the departments doing well?"

"Yes, Owari-sama! Everything is currently ahead of schedule."

That made me smile. "That's good to hear. Please keep up the good work."

Kurisu bowed to me. "Praise is unnecessary. All I need is to feel your chakra near me and know that I am safe."

I reached forward, placing a black gloved hand over Kurisu's head. "You give me too much credit, aha... although I have heard that my chakra is rather unpleasant to be around. Does it not bother you?"

Kurisu's head snapped up, his face contorting into rage. "Who would dare!?"

"Ah... no one you need to concern yourself with."

Kurisu's lips curled back into a quiet snarl. "They should be gutted for that insult. Owari-sama's chakra is... incredible."

I gave a slight tilt of my head. "Incredible?"

"Like a black fire," Kurisu whispered, "a dark flame that will engulf the entire world. It is rage, hatred, love, and a determination unlike any I have ever felt. It is righteous, and all-consuming, Owari-sama. Being near you is... overwhelming, and inspiring. I am humbled by your presence, and I draw strength in your heat."

"That seems... intense," I observed. "You are truly unbothered by it?"

"I am safe in the black fire," Kurisu said softly, like a sigh. "It only burns monsters. I can feel its hunger for them... it's craves their blood. Yes, yes... I am safe in the black fire, because those monsters will be eaten."

I gave Kurisu's head another pat. "That's right. I'll eat up every last one of them."

Kurisu shuddered, hunching his shoulders down with relief. "Promise?"

"I swear."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

With that taken care of, I found my partner and offered to buy him drinks and food at our favorite little spot in Amegakure.

Never one to deny free food, Kisame happily agreed.

Our favorite little spot was a tiny bakery that had a loft up top reserved special for me and Kisame. We could pull a screen back so I could eat without my mask, and they simply had the _best_ tiny cakes in the whole world. Kisame could eat nearly fifty of them without slowing down, they were delightfully fluffy.

We grabbed our food and drinks before we took our seat. Then we chatted for a little bit before I got around to telling Kisame about my new Genin team.

As I finished explaining the assessment to Kisame, my partner chortled. "Ah, man! I wish I had my own Genin team to harass."

"You can get a team from Ame," I pointed out. "Hell, you can get them trained up and we can pit our teams against each other in the exams."

Kisame looked thoughtful. "You know... I think I'll do exactly that. It's boring here during the day now that you've gotta focus on Konoha again. Kicking kids up and down the training grounds might be a good way to pass time."

My partner took a big drink and I said, "As long as you don't _actually_ kill them."

Kisame's face twisted up. "That was an accident! I didn't realize they'd die from one swing."

"Uh-huh."

Kisame scoffed. "Kill one—"

" _Fve_."

"—five people by mistake and you never live it down."

"Yep," I said, popping the p. "I've never, _ever_ done that."

Kisame gave me a flat look of disbelief. "You're delusional. I seem to recall you accidentally fed twelve of our prisoners to that cannibalistic summon of yours."

"He's not a cannibal. He doesn't eat other ghosts," I corrected. "And... I honestly forgot about them."

"How? You did it twelve times!"

I shrugged. "I've killed a lot of people. They all blur together, to be honest."

Kisame rubbed his chin as he considered this. "Hmm. You know, I can't remember their faces very well now that I think about it. I think—I think I killed someone with a mole on their nose before. Maybe?"

I tried to think if I had done that, but I didn't recall anyone with a mole on their face. Then again all I could piece together was a lot of intestines, guts, spleens, dicks, lungs, livers, kidneys, hearts... Really all I could remember about my kills was a haze of gore and red.

Lots of red.

"I wish I could kill someone who had blue blood," I murmured. "Something to change up the pace. I'm so _sick_ of red."

"That'd be great! We could skin them and see if their organs are blue, too. Green would be neat to see."

"Maybe purple?" I suggested. "What would have purple blood, though?"

Kisame made a _hmm_ sound at that. "Do bijū bleed?"

"I-I don't think so?"

"Welp. Maybe that snake fucker will make some kind of new mutation that will bleed purple."

I shuddered with disgust. "Ugh. Don't remind me of his existence, it only makes me want to choke someone."

"Should I remind you about Tsunade instead, then?"

I reflexively lashed out, very nearly severing Kisame's head. If he hadn't been prepared for my instant flash of anger, and already raised Samehada in defense, he would have been in serious trouble.

As it happened, after my wood-covered fist slammed against his sword, my anger slipped away. I let out a hard sigh, slumping back in my seat as Kisame lowered his sword and started to laugh. "God I hope I'm there for the family reunion."

"Me, too," I muttered, "you can help me get creative with what to do with the body."

"Don't sell yourself short," Kisame consoled me, "I'm sure you'd be able to come up with something for her."

"Really?"

"Sure. You're my evil partner in crime, aren't you?"

That got a smile. "Yeah."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**BONUS**

Kisame gave a small little wave as Naasica headed back to Konoha. His partner typically only operated on three hours worth of sleep—difficult for anyone, even Kisame—since she devoted a lot of her time to Konoha, and the Akatsuki. Kisame had to admit it was impressive how she was able to maintain her body, and mind, through chakra pulses and cleansing. It was something Madara himself taught Naasica—and she taught Kisame—that allowed shinobi and kunoichi to function with extremely minimal amount of sleep.

Of course no one could function that way indefinitely. She'd have a "crash" period about once a month where she would sleep like the dead for a solid twenty hours. She had it set up so that way during that time she'd be visiting Mo—technically—but in reality she'd be here, at the Akatsuki base, in her special bedroom. It was covered head to toe in privacy, and security seals made by Madara and Naasica.

It was actually a pretty sweet room. Kisame used it when Naasica wasn't around—with her permission—since it was literally the safest place he could think to relax. While Amegakure was heavily protected, it was also filled with some crazy fanatics devoted to a made up god and some angels.

Just a tad too crazy for Kisame to feel _completely_ comfortable in.

Kisame scratched the back of his head as he thought about what to do next. He could take a mission and hunt down some interesting meatbags but he wasn't really feeling it. Bounty hunting got boring after a while, and while he and Naasica could spice things up by challenging each other, it sounded like she'd be busy in Konoha for a while.

 _Maybe I really should get my own team?_ Kisame mused to himself. _I really just got to grab some Genin and claim them, right? I'm Akatsuki, and Owari's partner, so I doubt any Genin will protest the idea. Yeah... I could pit them against Naasica's team in the Exams, too._

That really did sound like a fun idea. How pissed would she be if his team kicked her team's ass?

Kisame couldn't resist chuckling at that, just imagining the way her cheeks would flush red, and her eyes would get that delightfully dangerous light in them.

He loved getting under her skin. She was always _so_ dramatic, and when she really got into it...

Well. Kisame never would have thought about making a man swallow a self-release storage scroll filled with powerful cockroaches that when opened up in his stomach, would have them starting eating him from the inside out.

And laying eggs.

That was crazy gross.

 _But also crazy interesting to watch,_ Kisame admitted. In a perturbed, disturbed kind of way.

Kisame started heading out of the bedroom, descending the Akatsuki tower. As Owari's partner, Kisame was awarded with a certain level of reverence. It was unsaid that Kisame acted on Owari's behalf at times—which was true, since Naasica couldn't be here all the time—and consequently saying no to Kisame instantly garnered Owari's undivided attention.

You didn't want Owari's undivided attention.

Especially if the sadist behind the mask was in a foul mood.

 _God, she's going to torture those poor kids,_ Kisame thought, resisting the urge to cackle. _I wish I was in Konoha. That'd be hilarious to watch. I can just imagine their faces—Oh, maybe she'll replay the memory in a genjutsu for me._

Kisame ignored the deep bows from everyone he passed.

He did pause when he saw one of his colleagues walking down the hallway. Kisame raised his hand in a half-hearted greeting. "Yo, Sasori!"

Sasori was a short, hunched-over, puppet master that Naasica and Konan recruited about five years ago. He acted as one of Akatsuki's spymasters—Owari being second, and Kakuzu being third—and was reluctant to socialize with anyone.

Sasori paused. "Do you require something, Hoshigaki-san?"

"Nope," Kisame said cheerfully. "Gonna start my own Genin team."

"What?"

"Yeah, it'll be great."

Sasori stared unblinkingly at Kisame before letting out a tight sigh and starting to walk away.

Kisame politely moved out of his way, casually asking, "When are you heading out to Suna? Owari-chan gave you the mission, didn't he?"

Sasori said shortly, "He did. I'll be leaving in a few days. The poisons I'm brewing take a while to destil."

"Ah. Welp. Have fun with that! You taking your partner?"

Guren, one of Owari's students, was Sasori's partner. Kisame thought she'd be tagging along, but he didn't know the details of Owari's plan.

"Yes," Sasori said simply, walking away.

 _Fun guy,_ Kisame thought sarcastically, continuing on his way. He eventually reached the record room—where reports were kept on all active shinobi and kunoichi.

Except the Akatsuki. They were too important to put down on paper. The receptionist at the front let out an _eep_ when she saw Kisame, big blue eyes widening. "K-K-Kisame-sama! H-How may I help you?"

"Gimme a list of all active Genin. Ah... but make sure they're under fourteen. Wouldn't wanna be called a cheater," Kisame said, grinning with all his teeth.

"Y-Yes, Kisame-sama!"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** I want to make the world a good place. Unite humanity and have everyone focus on space travel and saving the world, I suppose. That might make a villain too, though.
> 
>  **Question:** Movie or book that you think defines you? Or maybe a character that you relate very well to?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	29. The Pit

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

_**"In the dark and dirty light,** _

_**where I can no longer hide,** _

_**I am exposed, corrupted through.** _

_**In the moment, motionless,** _

_**I will find my punishment.** _

_**This silent solitude!** _

_**-Sam luff, Solitude** _

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(KISAME)**

Kisame rubbed his hands together as he watched his cute little meatsacks shift around uncomfortably. Once he picked out his students, he had a messenger sent out to bring them all to one of the Akatsuki's private training grounds.

Obviously none of them refused the offer.

The Akatsuki were treated with reverence amongst the populace of Ame. Owari and Konan were head in exceptionally high regard, and consequently as Owari's partner, so was Kisame.

His starstruck students practically sprinted to get to the training grounds.

Kisame grinned widely, showing off his sharp teeth. "Alright. I think it's time for introductions. I'm Hoshigaki Kisame, partner of Owari. I specialize in kenjutsu, ninjutsu, and general ass kicking. Girl on the left, go."

The girl in question, an eleven year old, let out a small squeak. She was a petite little thing, all big blue eyes and soft black hair pulled into a side ponytail. She was easily the smallest of the trio, dressed in an overly large pale blue hoodie, and black shinobi pants that fell a little above her ankles. She wore her Ame hitai-ate around her neck, which Kisame thought was always a good place for fresh meat to wear since it added further protection against their neck.

"I-I'm Suzuki Seiko," Seiko introduced herself, a blush forming on her cheeks. "I hope to be a long-ranged ninjutsu user u-using my kekkei genkai: fuyu release."

Winter release? Kisame mused. He had only briefly glimpsed over her report. She had ridiculously large reserves—Uzumaki sized reserves—and a natural talent for her clan's kekkei genkai. The Suzuki Clan was nearly dead from lack of fertility by the time the Kirigakure civil war came around, and there were only two active users left. Once they integrated into Amegakure, however, the clan was able to successfully reproduce nearly ten kiddos who could use the kekkei genkai. Saeko was the most talented of the bunch, so Kisame grabbed her for himself.

Hey, if Naasica could have the Hyūga heiress then Kisame could have Saeko.

Fair's only fair.

"Okay," Kisame said, still grinning. "You, in the middle."

The boy in the middle was only barely bigger than Saeko. He had a mop of bright red hair, vivid green eyes, and a chip on his shoulder. He dressed in plain shinobi black pants, and a dark green camo-shirt. He had some thick black arm guards, and gloves, and black shinplates.

"Uzumaki Reo," Reo said flatly, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. The twelve year old still looked up at Kisame with plain reverence, but he actively tried to keep it from showing. It was funny, Kisame thought, to see Reo's brow furrow and his lips twitch as he tried to maintain a "cool" composure. "I'm a taijutsu specialist, and can use my clan's technique: chains."

If Naasica could have a powerhouse Uzumaki... So could Kisame.

"Last but not least," Kisame said, nodding towards his tallest student.

Kisame's last student was the very definition of nondescript. Civilian born with no natural talent in anything other than reading, or academics. He had flat brown hair that was kept neatly combed, dark brown eyes, and a face that was easy to forget. He was dressed entirely in black, the only color he had was a dark blue scarf he wrapped around to cover the lower half of his face. "Nibui Itsuki. I... have good chakra control."

Kisame was honestly tempted to grab another powerhouse, but that might be considered cheating. He took a completely ordinary, unremarkable twelve year old instead, like his partner.

Kisame clapped his hands together. "Good. Now let's get started, yeah? My goal is to get you guys shaped up to completely obliterate the Chūnin Exams in Konoha in six months. Prepare for the most hellish, grueling time of your lives, my cute little meatsacks."

All of three of them looked up at Kisame with determination, and hope.

_This'll be a blast._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(NAASICA)**

I blinked once, then twice, a dizzying sensation washing over me. My head pounded fiercely for several seconds before it, and the vertigo vanished at once. When the fog over my mind lifted, I realized I was in a deserted training ground. The moon's position told me it was in the very early hours of the morning—around three, I would guess.

I had no memory of getting here.

The last thing I recalled was working in my office. It had only barely turned midnight when—

Nothing.

 _Three hours gone?_ I thought to myself. _That's twice in a month, now, though... Is it happening more frequently, I wonder?_

It wasn't the first time. Ever since Madara's death I had lost track of time a few times every couple months or so. It never lasted for more than three hours, and I only visited secluded grounds. I had Obito and Kakashi tail me a couple times when it first started, but they told me I only stood around.

I couldn't visit a doctor about it, since they'd likely do a thorough examination. If they did that, they'd undoubtedly discover some body seals I'd like to keep private. Then I'd have to kill them.

Spending a few hours of my time every month standing around wasn't _that_ big of an issue.

I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

Then I went home to catch some sleep.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

"Again, Naruto," I ordered, eyes narrowed as I watched my adopted son leap back up into the air. He was pushing raw fūton chakra out of the bottom of his shoes. He was supposed to pump out enough to reach thirty meters first before he would slowly fall back down, then jump back up at twenty meters, repeat again for ten meters, and start over at thirty.

He was to land on the river without falling into the water, but so far he's had trouble doing that, and control his fūton chakra enough to gracefully slow his descent. So far he only made it come out in bursts, so the entire process was sloppy and required much refinement.

It probably didn't help I tied weights to him.

Naruto was breathing heavily, his outfit long discarded in exchange for a swimsuit. He was caked in sweat, his brow furrowed as he entirely concentrated on the exercise.

My gaze swung over to my next student. Hinata's hands were tied behind her back, a grimace on her face as she tried to maintain her composure through her own exercise. I summoned a couple dozen wooden spikes that stretched seven meters up from the ground. The points of them were sharp enough to cut through skin at a slight graze, and further down the base were a multitude of splinters pointing out.

Hinata was barefoot, and forced to hop onto each pillar, her feet awkwardly sticking toward the top of the spikes, the only spots not covered in spikes. She had to hop from one end to the other, and perform at least three different kicks on the way.

If she lost her balance she was not allowed to catch herself with her feet, or hands. Instead, I wanted her to use a basic suiton ninjutsu to pump enough water out of her mouth to push her back into place. The Hyūga were overly confident with their hand-to-hand fighting, I always believed. While Hisana worked hard to incorporate some much needed kicks in Hinata's style, she still lacked the experience to be wholly comfortable using her entire body.

And I wanted her to learn a good amount of long-ranged ninjutsu attacks. I thought about adding genjutsu to her repertoire instead, but decided that might be a bit too much this early on.

The Hyūga heiress looked like she was starting to near the verge of her first collapse. Impressive, since everyone began three hours ago.

After Hinata came Sakura and Ino. I had agreed to take on Ino, Chōji, and Shikamaru since the three of them required similar physical conditioning as Sakura.

And I was obviously the better teacher of the three of us. Kakashi and Obito were excellent shinobi, but neither of them had as much teaching experience as myself. Kakashi was working exclusively with Kiba at the moment, training him not to be so reliant on Akamaru while Akamaru trained with Kakashi's pack. Inuzuka members were decent enough with their partners, but becoming reliant on any other living creature in the world to do your entire arsenal was... _stupid_.

Kakashi had every intentions of turning Kiba into a close-to-mid range fighter. He'd teach him doton ninjutsu, and how to use dual weapons for maximum impact.

Obito took on Sasuke and Shino. Shino could never be a proper ninjutsu-heavy shinobi due to his hive (his bugs consistently ate up 75% of his chakra), so Obito would train him in taijutsu and genjutsu. The idea being that Shino would be able to throw off his opponents mid-fight to turn tides in his favor, or ensnare them at a distance in order to get close enough.

Sasuke, who was already skilled in genjutsu and clearly wanting to master it, would receive similar training. Except Obito would make sure Sasuke had some long-ranged ninjutsu in his arsenal. If you could learn long-ranged attacks, you always should. It'd be foolish to keep to a small arsenal.

Ino, Sakura, and Chōji were the three most unfit students we had. A brief discussion with Chōji's father confirmed that not _all_ clan techniques required body fat. He would not go against me if I wanted Chōji to be more muscles instead of fat.

So the three of them were outfitted with weights around their ankles, wrists, back, and chest. They were not allowed to remove them except for bathing and sleeping. Any _excessive_ damage they suffered would be healed up by Shisui in a way that will leave the muscles and bones stronger than before.

The three of them were tasked to run through a very simple obstacle course.

In the past three hours they'd each already collapsed from exhaustion over a dozen times.

And each time they were brought back up by a sympathetic Shisui and ordered to keep going.

Shisui was monitoring the three of them closely for me. I had _kindly_ requested he took the month off for this specific purpose. When he mentioned it to his boss that his clan leader, Senju Demon herself, asked of it, he was immediately given paid leave.

The last student under my supervision was Shikamaru. He wasn't as unfit as the other three, so he was only given weights around his ankles and wrists. He was also put through another obstacle course... blindfolded.

I changed the obstacle course every time he ran through it—and he was not allowed to walk—so he couldn't completely memorize it.

He'd also collapsed around five times in the past three hours.

We began the training at six hundred sharp, and we would continue it until noon. Then I would allow them a two hour reprieve before we began again and continued until nineteen hundred.

This would repeat for the entire week, and then we would give them a chance out of this hell. On Saturday they would all train together, and on Sunday we would evaluate them. If they passed the evaluation, we would allow them to only train in the morning the following week and take missions in the afternoon.

If they failed, it would be another week of hell for them.

I smiled at that.

Because I knew they were going to fail, and we would be putting them through this for many, many more days.

I almost felt sorry for them.

 _Almost_.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Between extremely harsh training, a proper diet, and ragged determination, everyone could see improvement by the time the weekend rolled around. Chōji was shedding fat like water off a duck, with he and the girls rapidly gaining proper muscles. Granted, the girls would never bulk up due to lack of testosterone, but they were finally starting to become _wiry_ and _lean_.

I suspected by the end of the month they would be as physically fit as Hinata.

Another week of hellish training and I decided I'd switch up their routine. Mornings would remain as intense exercise, but afternoons I could focus on actually passing on _skills_. With Sakura's chakra control, I was initially leaning towards genjutsu but that'd be rather boring.

She had the mind and talent for medical training, if she so chose, but I wouldn't be able to teach her in that so it was out. Maybe after she became a Chūnin she could seek out an apprenticeship with Shisui, but that would have to be her choice.

So I sat back and thought about my team composition.

Hinata would primarily be a close ranged fighter. Even though I would teach her long-ranged ninjutsu, that was to fill a painfully obvious weak point in her style. It would never be her priority. I'd bet all the money in the world she'd follow her mother's footsteps to a _t_. She'd learn Hisana's version of the Gentle Fist, master poison, and learn chakra strings and senbon. She'd incorporate launching poison-laced senbon via chakra strings with her fighting style.

She'd be lethal in close range, undoubtedly.

Naruto was a wild card with his fūinjutsu, but he'd probably stay mid-close range. He wasn't the type of person to want to sit back and launch attacks. He _wanted_ to be in the middle of the fray.

On the flip side he equally enjoyed setting up traps made by his seals and guiding his enemies inside of them, like a sadistic mastermind.

But it won't be often that he'd have a chance to set up traps beforehand, so for the purpose of evaluating team composition I'd put him at a mid-close range fighter.

Which meant my team lacked a dedicated long ranged fighter.

But Sakura's reserves would never _truly_ get big enough—

_But with her chakra control..._

Hmm.

_Could she become a long distance fighter?_

What kind of weapons did long distance fighters typically used, aside from ninjutsu?

Bows and arrows. Madara had an old bow that was made by the Uzumaki generations ago. It didn't require any arrows, but instead it generated chakra arrows based on the user's nature.

It was a good bow, Madara had told me. But it was too old to be used casually anymore, and being an archer never really fit Madara's style.

I could very likely reconstruct the bow myself. Hell, I could have _Naruto_ reverse engineer the seals and build Sakura a bow. It'd be a good exercise for him, and I'd be able to assist him as necessary along the way.

Sakura already picked out a couple daggers, and whip as weapons she wanted to learn. Both might actually work well with an archer build. Obviously enemies would still get close to Sakura—I wasn't arrogant enough to think I'd be able to train her to kill _everyone_ before they got to her—so she'd need to learn how to fight mid and close range. Daggers would help in close range, and a whip could cover the distance between too-short-to-use-a-bow but too-far-to-use-daggers.

_Hmm._

If done right, the arrows shouldn't put a drain on Sakura's reserves, either. They'd also be able to shoot much farther than most ninjutsu techniques. Although they wouldn't be good for aoes.

 _Unless she learned how to turn them explosive_?

It might be possible. If the arrows were simply the user's chakra condensed and given shape, shouldn't she be able to dictate what kind of chakra is used?

 _This honestly sounds perfect,_ I admitted to myself.

With my mind made up, I decided to have Naruto not train with the other Genin on the weekend. Instead, I'd give him the task of reverse engineering the seals off Madara's bow, and putting them on a different bow.

_Should I go ahead and get an adult bow? Hmm. Yeah, might as well. She better be strong enough to use it._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

On Saturday, I had Naruto stay home with me while Obito, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Shisui headed out to the training grounds.

Naruto and I sat at the kitchen table. On my right was Madara's antique bow, and on my left was a brand new blood-red bow. Naruto sat across from me, looking at both bows with open curiosity. "How come I'm not training with the others today?"

"Today you're going to learn about fūinjutsu," I told him. "Or, well, I'm giving you an exercise to complete. It'd be difficult. It's S level fūinjutsu."

Naruto's eyes shined brightly at that, and he perked up. "Really? Oh heck yeah! What do I do?"

I patted Madara's bow. "This is a cherished, antique bow from the Uzumaki family. Reverse engineer the seals off it, and place them on this new bow for Sakura."

"For Sakura?" Naruto repeated, his face scrunched. "Why does _she_ get to keep my work?"

"You're teammates," I scolded him. "Teammates help each other. I've done plenty of fūinjutsu work for Obito and Kakashi."

Naruto still looked reluctant. "But she's... I mean she's _such_ a fan girl."

"Really? Has she done anything since team formation to make you think that?" I asked dubiously.

"Well, no," Naruto admitted. "She was all over Sasuke in the academy, though. She doesn't know 'nything 'bout him, either."

"Hormones are powerful things not to be underestimated," I reprimanded him. "Do I need to have the talk with you?"

Naruto cringed. "No. Nope. Na-uh. I'm good. I get it. Puberty's a bitch, I'll drop it."

"Good. You have a week."

"Please," Naruto scoffed. "It won't even take me a day."

The thought made me amused. It would've only taken _me_ a day, sure, but Naruto?

"Wanna bet?" I purred. "If you get it done by midnight tonight... I'll talk to Minato about teaching you the flying thunder god."

Naruto's eyes bulged. Learning his father's legendary technique was an open desire of his. The only reason Minato hadn't trained him, yet, was because Naruto lacked the fūinjutsu skill. If he was able to successfully reverse engineer seals that were S-ranked, then he clearly could do the same for the teleportation technique.

A big, wicked grin stretched over his face and he declared, "Watch me! I'll have it done in no time."

"Good," I said with a smile. "You have until midnight. If you fail, you won't be able to take missions for a _month_."

That got a gulp of worry out of him.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

At twenty hundred that night—hours after everyone returned home, enjoyed dinner, and headed off to bed—Naruto sprinted into my office. He proudly held up Sakura's bow, his face brighter than the dawn. "I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT!"

I put down the tax report the council was going to go over in the next meeting. I turned around in my office chair and held out my hand. Naruto placed the bow inside of it, jumping up and down in place.

I examined it for several minutes, unable to contain my surprise, and pride at his work.

_He actually did it._

I lowered the bow and gave Naruto the warmest smile my black heart could make. "Well done, my little sunshine. You have succeeded. I will talk with Minato later, so why don't you go to bed now?"

"Hee-hee-hee!" Naruto giggled with glee, rocking from side to side with giddiness from his success. "I'm going to be the _best_ fūinjutsu master ever! EVER!"

"Yes," I agreed, my gaze soft. "You really will be."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Sunday was evaluation, and we did the same one as last week. Unsurprisingly no one succeeded—but they did get a _little_ bit farther—and by the time the sun began to set we concluded the test. Before we allowed them to go, however, Kakashi unveiled a crate we had kept hidden.

Inside the crate were portable kennels, and each one had a cute little rabbit inside of it.

"Everyone needs to take one," I told them, "and take care of it for a while."

"Huh?" Kiba groaned. "How come?"

"It's for another test," Obito said. "To see if anyone has an affinity for animals, or is compassionate enough to start training under Shisui for medical."

The first part was true.

The second part was a lie.

Still, Shisui smiled and waved, as he was told to do. "Yep! All iryo-nin start with rabbits. None of them should be sick now, but if you're so inept at keeping a healthy rabbit alive not a lot we can work with, yeah?"

There were some exchanged looks, but for the most part they accepted what we told them. Sakura, Ino, and Chōji were especially happy with this development. The three of them selected their rabbits and immediately named them, all smiles and bright eyes.

"Dismissed," Kakashi told them.

The students left the training ground, tired and dirty. A few of them were chatting about their bunnies, and I barely heard Naruto suggest they bring them over to Kiba's. The three of us remained behind, waiting for them to leave before discussing our next move.

"Think they'll be okay?" Obito asked, a the barest hint of worry in his tone.

"No," I admitted honestly. "I think—I think we might have to use The Pit."

There was a twinge in Kakashi. Obito and I both reached out to him. Obito placed a hand on his shoulder, while I grabbed his hand. We moved closer to him, not quite embracing, but _enough_ for him to be able to draw comfort from our presence. Kakashi took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

"We don't have to do it," Obito offered him.

"No. Naasica was right, it's a good idea to use it," Kakashi disagreed quietly. "If they can't handle _this_ test, they'll be in for a lot worse if war ever breaks out. The Pit is a safest way to... acclimate them."

"I'm sorry," I confessed to him. It was my idea, after all.

"Don't be," Kakashi told me. "Even _without_ war, there's still violence. They'll have to take lives, and get accustomed to the dirty side of this career anyway. If they break from The Pit..."

_If The Pit breaks them, then they shouldn't be in this business._

It went unsaid, though.

I placed a brief kiss on Kakashi's cheek. "Obito and I will handle it, if it comes to it."

"I'm okay—"

"We'll handle it," Obito insisted, pulling both Kakashi and me into a hug. "We know you're a big tough Jōnin, buddy. Don't strain yourself trying to show off."

Kakashi might have smiled under his mask, but I couldn't see since his head was bowed.

Kakashi was a strong shinobi. He was a war veteran and had added hues of Red to the world during his career. He was soaked in the blood of his enemies, and even in the blood of innocents. He was a proper soldier for his village.

But he was still a man, and he reached his breaking point years ago.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't have an Owari to help bear that burden.

No. He only had me and Obito, and the two of us were barely put together as it was.

It was a bit of an odd thing, though, when you thought about it. How one little experience would be the last straw that forced Kakashi to draw the line. He was fine with everything else, but whatever made him think back to it—

Well.

Not that I could blame him.

We all had our scars to bear. Some of them hurt a bit more than others.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

I headed back home to make dinner while Obito took Kakashi for a stroll around Konoha. It was doubtful Kakashi would have an anxiety attack, or flashback, but on the off chance he did it would be best if he was someplace private. None of us liked showing our weak moments to the children in the house.

Minato was understanding. He had his fair share of issues. Even Shisui developed claustrophobia from his time in the ROOT cellars.

But Naruto and Sasuke were devoid of Red, and we didn't know how to explain to them why certain things bothered us. Why Kakashi avoided holes, why Obito refused to sleep in total darkness, why Minato sometimes just had to hold onto us for hours on end, unable to let go.

Why I couldn't visit Kushina's grave.

How did you explain to a child, who lived a life without strife, what trauma or pain was?

I wished I'd never have to.

I wished Naruto and Sasuke followed Itachi's path and turned their backs on the shinobi world.

But those were simply wishes, and given Naruto's jinchūriki status Minato would have undoubtedly made sure he was trained. Sasuke was adamant about being strong enough to protect his family, and there was no persuading him otherwise.

They were both destined to follow in our footsteps.

They were both going to break.

I only hoped I would be able to save them before they shattered.

Upon returning home, I set about making dinner. I pulled out the pork from the fridge, pleased it had finished thawing during the day. I seasoned each cut, and whipped up a breaded batter for them. While the oil was heating up in the fryer—a good purchase by Obito, but a _pain_ in the ass to clean—I worked on the vegetables. When the oil was hot enough the vegetables were almost done steaming, and I dropped in the batter-covered pork loins in the fryer.

Frying barely took more than a few minutes, so by ten minutes I had all the meat fried. While the pork loins were frying, I had previously popped in homemade biscuits in the oven.

Everything ended up finishing around the same time, and it was then that Naruto and Sasuke returned home.

"We're home!" Naruto hollered out. "I smell fried pork!"

"Yes," I confirmed. "Would you two please set the table?"

Sasuke and Naruto entered the kitchen, both boys reaching to grab one of the fried pieces of pork, but I swatted their hands away. "Don't be such pigs. Wait until dinner."

Then I noticed something.

"Where are your rabbits?" I asked suspiciously.

"Killed 'em and fed them to the Inuzaka puppies," Naruto said flippantly.

I sighed. " _Both_ of you?"

"Kiba and Hina-chan did, too," Naruto defended.

"The puppies are almost ready to be adopted out," Sasuke added. "We thought—Tsume-san said that maybe—maybe we could have one?"

That made me blink. "You two want a puppy?"

"Not us," Sasuke corrected. "For Itachi-niisan. Since he's—you know. Not a shinobi anymore, and the puppies could be trained to protect him."

While Itachi was retired, I didn't believe for a second there were a lot of people that could threaten him.

"If it's okay with Minato," I answered slowly. "I suppose we could get Ita-chan a puppy."

The boys let out a whoop. Naruto asked me, "Is he home?"

"Yes, he's in his work room. Knock before you enter in case he's experimenting with seals again."

Naruto and Sasuke both made an acknowledging noise before dashing off. I realized they hadn't set up the table at all, so I rolled my eyes and went ahead and did so. When they had returned—and Minato was with him—dinner was finished and set.

"Are Kakashi and Obito joining us?" Minato asked.

"Maybe," I answered. "They're out for a walk."

Minato didn't react, since that was our code for when one of us was feeling... _less than stellar_. Instead, he said, "Okay. So how's training?"

"Easy," Naruto bragged. "I don't know why Nee-chan is bothering with the rabbit test, though."

"Not everyone has gone hunting before and is comfortable with killing animals," Minato chided. "You have a civilian on your team, don't you?"

"Ugh. _Yeah_ ," Naruto muttered, exchanging sour looks with Sasuke.

"She's just as bad as Ino," Sasuke complained. "Can we drop all the useless weight? We don't need Sakura or Ino."

"Sasuke, they're your teammates," Minato admonished. "Besides, everyone has to start somewhere. Did you know that Obito was the deadlast?"

"Yeah, but he has the Sharingan," Sasuke pointed out. " _Of course_ he was going to turn into a legend. Ino just complains about getting sweaty, and Sakura's... _weak_."

"They're both _really_ weak," Naruto stressed. "How did they even pass the academy?"

Minato cleared his throat. "The academy evaluates _all_ strengths. Sakura-san scored better than both of you on the written tests."

That made Naruto roll his eyes. " _Ooo_. Someone who _re-eads_."

" _Naruto_ ," Minato said warningly. He looked over at me with a raised eyebrow.

I smiled in response. "Don't worry. I beat the bickering out of Kakashi and Obito. This'll be a piece of cake."

Sasuke and Naruto both winced when I casually patted my bullwhip.

"The greatest shinobi alive and his sidekick have returned," Obito called out, teleporting into the kitchen with Kakashi. "Ooo. Fried goodness, come to me."

Kakashi took a seat beside me, appearing perfectly fine. That made me smile, since it meant that he was able to collect himself without dissolving into a panic attack.

"So what'd you two name your cute little bunnies?" Obito asked, scooping himself a big portion of food as he sat down beside Minato.

"Dog food one and dog food two," Sasuke quipped.

"Damn it. You weren't supposed to kill them that soon," Obito griped.

"We remembered Itachi-niisan having to do the same thing when he joined his Genin team," Naruto told him.

"Don't tell your friends," Obito warned them. "Otherwise you won't see missions for a _year_."

The look of sheer horror on their faces made them both fervently promise not to mention it.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The next week followed much like last week. No one had passed their evaluation, so everyone was back to doing hellish training for a week. Progress was made on everyone's part, though. Naruto was now able to shoot up to fifty meters in the air in one shot, but his descent was still rocky. Hinata was able to bellow out a good stream of water to catch herself, and the rest no longer passed out so often. Shikamaru even made it through one session without dropping, which earned a good cheer of congratulations from Shisui.

Come Saturday we decided to give them a day of rest instead of training. This was met with tears or relief, and fevered thanks.

Then Sunday happened.

We told everyone to bring their dear bunnies.

Only three of them did so.

Chōji... Ino... and Sakura.

The rest of our Genin had killed their pet off in one fashion or the other. Most of them simply fed them to the new puppies after slitting their throats. Shino straight up used his for dinner.

It gave me hope for them. To already have so many comfortable with such an exercise was _wonderful_. It meant that I might not have to use The Pit.

The Pit was something I'd like to avoid if possible. In part for Kakashi's sake, but also because it was such a hassle to set up.

So I hoped that everyone would breeze through this test without issue.

"It seems like most of you caught on," Obito began that morning, his lips turned upwards in a cute smile. "We're proud of each you. To be honest, we'd prefer if the academy did this to begin with, but too many civilian parents protested against it."

Sakura looked around the mostly rabbit-less group, her brow furrowed as she clutched at the small brown fluff ball she dubbed Kikyo. "Um... I'm sorry, Senseis, but what are you talking about?"

"You were supposed to kill the rabbit," Sasuke cut in sharply.

Ino and Sakura both gasped at that, clutching at their pets. Chōji's face drained of blood, and his eyes watered. "Wh-Why?"

"You're going to be killing humans soon enough," Kakashi said flippantly. "Food really shouldn't bother you."

"But," I said not unkindly, "we understand that this isn't something you were raised, or taught about. At least, not in the academy. Taking a life is... _difficult_."

If anyone noticed my tone took a more mockery edge to it, they didn't comment.

"So today," Kakashi went on, "your exam is simple. Everyone has to kill their rabbit before noon, and then everyone passes. If Sakura, Ino, or Chōji fail to do this... then it's another week of _no_ missions and we'll go back to the more difficult test."

The trio mentioned were thunderstruck by this. Sakura began to pet her rabbit's head and asked with a shaky voice, "If we—if we don't kill them by noon, d-do we get to keep them?"

"Sure," I dismissed. "If you're willing to put dog food above your teammates, might as well go all the way."

My words bothered them, and unsurprisingly Kiba spoke up and said, "Just kill the stupid things already. I'm tired of training _all_ the damn time!"

"Here," Naruto said uncaringly, handing Sakura his kunai, "just make it quick."

Sakura paled, and shakily accepted the kunai.

But none of them made a move to kill the rabbits.

When their teammates realized this, there was some shouting. Threats. Peer pressure was tossed in soon enough, and Chōji was the first to break. With watery eyes, he slit his pet's throat. Ino followed behind him, only tears actually escaped her. Finally came Sakura, who held back a sob.

All in all, it took a solid half hour.

 _Shit,_ I thought, exchanging annoyed looks with Obito and Kakashi. _Looks like we're doing The Pit after all._

Sigh.

If only they hadn't hesitated.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura patiently waited for me the Monday after the rabbit slaughter. The trio of them looked around the empty training grounds, surprised that Ino, Chōji, and Shikamaru weren't there. Especially since Obito was also beside me.

"Kakashi has taken everyone else for today," I said with a cold smile. "Since you all passed the evaluations we'll be taking missions in the afternoon. Mornings will still be dedicated to training, however. Sakura, you will remain on the physical conditioning program for another two weeks, though. Since you're making excellent progress, I'll only have you spend three hours of the morning on such, and the rest of the three hours will be spent training with weapons."

Sakura had a smile on her face at that, her body language conveying genuine happiness at that. "Th-Thank you!"

I clapped my hands together, tilting my head as I retained my chilling smile. "Before we begin, however, something must be rectified. Sakura-chan, you were the last of the Genin to kill your rabbit."

Naruto and Hinata spared her a glance, a glimmer of concern for their teammate on their faces. Judging from how Sakura's shoulders stiffened and color drained from her face, she sensed something unpleasant was about to happen to her.

Well.

She wouldn't be wrong.

"U-Um," Sakura stammered out, "I-I'm sorry. I promise to do better."

"I know," I told her. "Because I will _make_ you better. It seems that it is time to desensitize you, dear Sakura-chan. Hina-chan, and Naru-chan will watch, and if either react you will get to join Sakura-chan."

That made all of them jump.

I could practically hear them asking themselves: _What could be_ that _bad?_

I inclined my head. "Follow me. Oh, but... Obito, won't you please blindfold Sakura-chan, first?"

Obito had a big smile on his face. It was the kind of smile he wore right before he ripped out the intestines of someone he didn't like.

It only seemed to unnerve the trio of students further, though.

Obito was quick to tie the blindfold around Sakura's eyes, and he took her hand to guide her towards The Pit.

Kakashi kindly dug out a fifty meter pit for me. He smoothed it out entirely so no _rocks_ could be used as a ledge.

I filled it up about two meters with rotting animal corpses and gore. I dug out holes in the side and stuck them with human limbs, guts, and heads. Some of them were in tight enough to hold a person's weight. Others were covered in too much blood so were slipper, and the rest were loose enough that they'd fall right out if touched.

All of them were close enough together that a blind-folded little girl would be able to reach them.

The dead _things_ that rested at the bottom were rotten enough that tiny little maggots could be seen squirming inside of them. Holes torn out of them, mangled faces and heads staring up with unblinking eyes.

I did add some humans to it. A hand here, an arm there, _a head in the wall_. It was so easy to find the necessary parts. The humans were unfortunately a bit too fresh, though, so Obito was kind enough to tear them up. To burn bits and pieces of their flesh so that way they would slide right off if touched.

Naruto and Hinata both covered their nose and mouth. My poor, innocent little students had never been to the front.

They never had to inhale the bile stench of rotting flesh. They didn't have to hear the buzzing of flies, and see the squirming maggots eating out holes in things that were once human.

Once alive.

Hinata's eyes were impossibly wide, and she trembled with disgust and fear as she stared down at the pit. The way she clutched at her mouth and stomach told me she was fighting the urge to vomit.

Naruto was shaking, all pale and wide-eyed. I had been careful not to show him Red before. If he had chosen to remain a civilian, to _not_ follow the Red path of shinobi I would have kept him innocent. But he chose Red, so he will get to see Red.

I would allow them a minute of breaking their composure before I counted it against them. Anyone would be caught off guard at first.

Sakura herself was gagging at the smell, coughing up spit and struggling not to retch. Obito casually patted her back.

"In front of you," I told the blindfolded Sakura, "is a pit. I will lower you inside the pit, and you must climb your way out of it _without_ the use of chakra. Using your chakra will cause me to... show my displeasure. You cannot remove your blindfold."

"Wh-What's in it?" Sakura whispered, fear making her voice crack and her entire body shake like a leaf in a tornado.

I did not answer her.

Her not knowing would only fuel her fear.

Instead, I transformed my right arm into a branch, wrapped it around her waist and slowly dropped her down into the pit. She threw up half way down, losing her entire breakfast.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(SAKURA)**

Sakura could hear Naruto and Hinata reacting to whatever was down the hole. Their reactions did nothing to assuage Sakura's mounting anxiety, and when she got a good whiff of what was inside she nearly turned tail and ran. It was _disgusting_. It was like rotting meat, that horrendously sweet and sour stench.

When Naasica-sensei's wood wrapped around Sakura's waist, the civilian born girl couldn't hold back her whimpers. She was lowered into the hole—the overwhelming malodor growing more pronounced—and then plopped up to her chest in—in—in— _something_.

The smell of whatever she was in was literally so bad Sakura couldn't stop from retching, which made everything worse. Once she threw up her breakfast, she couldn't seem to _stop_ from gagging and choking on that foul, _awful_ smell and—

_OH MY GOD SOMETHING TOUCHED ME!_

Sakura tried to scream, tried to _move_ , but the slimy filth she was in was like tar. She was pressing up against soft, squishy, _things_ and then she could _oh, God, oh God, oh God_ she could feel things worming and squirming and crawling on her.

She screamed, frantically trying to get away from the—She. Felt. A. Hand.

She felt a hand.

A hand grabbed around her ankle and Sakura's screams mounted. She wanted to claw the blindfold off and see what horrors Naasica had thrown her into, but she didn't dare. Things were touching her, grabbing her, and wiggling on her and Sakura's terror had reached new heights. Her head was lighter than a balloon as her heart pounded so hard in her chest she could scarcely breathe.

Demons, monsters, vile things, were in here with her.

When something grazed her leg again, she couldn't hold back her tears. Dread paralyzed her for a moment, sobs caught in her throat as she wished she was _anywhere_ else but here. Then she felt more things start to reach out to her, and Sakura _swore_ she could hear voices now. She could hear _something_ whispering to her, the sound only barely audible that Sakura couldn't make out what it said.

Panic broke through all of Sakura's reasoning. She tried to form her chakra—anger or not, she was getting out of this hell _now_!—but it failed her. She was too terrified, and so Sakura frantically scrambled to the wall. Her hands groped around with a powerful panic, tears streaming down her face.

The voices were getting louder. She knew she was blindfolded but she swore if she turned her head around she would see a monster. She would see the most ugliest, vile, wicked creature to have ever existed and it would be taunting her.

She had been thrown into _hell_.

Sakura finally found a ledge but— _oh_ , _why did it feel so fleshy?_ —and she let out another strangled cry. She pulled herself out of the gunk, trembling and shaking when she could feel some of it clung onto her. Squirming—squirming— _fingers_ were on her—the monster—the _monster was going to climb up after her_.

Sakura moved in a frenzy. She climbed with such fervor, with the literal belief that a demon was right at her heels. There was nothing but climbing, her mind was entirely blank with pure horror. The cold terror made her move her filth-covered body, made her squash the fingers of the monsters that grabbed her, made her _climb_.

She lost her grip, once, twice, _thrice_ and she screamed as she fell. By some kind of mercy she was able to catch herself on slimy ledges before she fell all the way back down. She moved, _and moved_ and refused to stop. She couldn't stop.

Hell was right at her heels.

Then she heard them—Naruto and Hinata—they were just above her and suddenly warm hands were grabbing her and pulling her up.

She was pulled to the top, her sobs hiccupping out of her as painful relief crashed hard on her. She cried for such a long time, her teammates holding onto her.

"Why don't you take a look?" Naasica asked her.

She didn't want to.

She didn't want to look back in that pit and see hell. She knew what hell was now. She knew the monsters that hid in there. She didn't want to see what they looked like.

But Sakura was still obedient, and she did as she was told.

And she did not understand what she saw.

 _That's it?_ Sakura thought. _Where—where was the monster? The things that grabbed me?_

Because all she saw were things that were dead. Dead things didn't come back to life to chase people.

_Where was the demon? What were the fingers?_

There was no demon. She could see, barely, little white maggots in some of the corpses. Could she have mistaken those for fingers?

It was gross, for certain, but nowhere near as scary as thinking she was in literal hell.

_Is that really it?!_

It didn't make any sense. Sakura couldn't wrap her mind around it.

She couldn't understand—

In comparison to what she thought she was going through, the pit looked extremely tame.

_Was I... not in hell?_

_Is that really... is that really all there was?_

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(NAASICA)**

When I plopped her into the pool of gore, she began retching violently. She was crying incoherently, stumbling around in the dead flesh of animals.

"Watch," I whispered to Hinata and Naruto. Both were still pale, and both still covered their noses, but they didn't break composure any further. "Watch her, _and learn_."

It took ten minutes before Sakura was able to pull herself together enough to waddle toward the side of the pit. She fumbled around, hiccups and tears crawling out of her. When grabbed onto the dismembered leg of a man that irritated me, she started crying even harder.

_But she pulled herself up._

She stepped up onto the leg, soaked up to her shoulders in blood as bits of intestines clung onto her. She felt around again, finding a face on her left that fell out of its hole, and a hand on the right that she could pull herself up with.

She began her hellish climb, slowly, _oh so slowly_.

And she fell.

Twice.

Back into the pool of Red, and each time she fell she let out a shriek so painfully terrified it made her teammates cry.

I almost pushed them in there to join her since they broke composure, but Obito grabbed onto my hands and shook his head. He smiled sweetly at me, and mouthed, _Mercy?_

Since Obito asked it of me, I obliged.

It made him beam and give me that smile he saved just for me and Kakashi. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, resting his chin on top of my head. We went back to watching Sakura continue her journey.

Each bump she faced, every sob and wheeze that left her, deeply bothered Naruto and Hinata. So perturbed they were, that when she finally reached the top, both of them dropped to their knees and bent over the ledge. They called out to her, stretching out their hands and grabbing onto her blood-soaked ones.

They pulled her up, tears falling out of their eyes, and they pulled her into a tight hug. Hinata openly weeping with Sakura, and Naruto hugging the two of them tightly.

Obito and I watched them, neither of us making a move to stop them. When the crying finally came to a stop, and the trio untangled themselves, I told Sakura, "You can remove your blindfold now, dear. Why don't you take a look at reality?"

With shaky hands, Sakura did as she was told and hesitantly peered down into the pit.

She stared at it for several seconds, confusion plain on her face. She whispered, her voice raspy and cracked, "That's... _it_? That's... _all_?"

"Did you think it was something worse?" Obito teased her lightly, a dark gleam in his eyes.

"Yes," she croaked out. "That's... _it_?"

She couldn't believe it.

"Well," I said, now smiling, "you did very well, Sakura-chan. Naru-chan, Hina-chan, why don't the two of you take her back to our home? Give her a nice bath, clean clothes, and have Ita-chan whip something up for her."

Naruto nodded firmly, pulling a dazed Sakura up. Hinata took Sakura's hand, smiling at her kindly. "Come on, Sakura-chan... Itachi-niisan makes excellent sweets."

Sakura blinked, a haze about her. "Oh... um... okay...."

As the trio headed off—Naruto and Hinata were very attentive toward Sakura—Obito and I exchanged looks.

"So... Ino's turn?" Obito asked brightly.

I smiled brightly. "Let me reset the pit."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

We put Ino and Chōji through the pit afterwards. We decided each one would be run through with only their team watching. Oddly, Shino and Sasuke both became upset when Ino went through The Pit, too. While neither of them cried—although Sasuke came very close—they both embraced their gore covered teammate afterwards. Obito sent his team back home, too.

(When they got there, and my team saw the blood-covered Ino, Hinata and Sakura both quietly got up and helped Ino with her bath, while the boys sat outside and kept guard.)

Next came Chōji, with Kiba and Shikamaru both breaking down enough that they got shoved into The Pit, too.

All three of them returned home with us, huddling close and grim-faced.

Once everyone was washed clean of the blood, they were given blankets and comfort food—although no one ate for many hours—and the teams stuck very close to one another. Hinata and Naruto were plainly protective of Sakura, both of them holding onto the dazed pinkette and openly glaring at me and Obito. Sasuke and Shino acted similarly with Ino, each holding on to her one of her hands. Chōji was holding Akamaru in his lap, as Kiba and Shikamaru flanked him, the gentle soul absently petting the concerned puppy.

We allowed everyone to sleep in the living room that night, Obito and Kakashi mentioning that they would take comfort with their teammates.

And when we asked them to each butcher an animal the following morning _not a single one hesitated._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(Sunday of The Pit, ITACHI)**

Itachi woke up on Sunday morning feeling refreshed and content. It was his day off, so he allowed himself to sleep in a little bit.

Getting up at seven hundred was a novel experience for Itachi. If someone had told him prior to Naasica adopting him that he would get to sleep in he would have thought they were insane. His father always made sure he was up by four hundred, and training within thirty minutes. Even if his father didn't supervise all of Itachi's training, he knew better than to skimp out.

Itachi sat up slowly in his bed, his gaze flickering over towards a picture of his mother he kept on the nightstand.

He did not keep pictures of his father.

Mikoto was a good woman, Itachi believed. A good woman who sided with the wrong man.

_But everyone makes mistakes._

Itachi set about to getting ready for the day. He may not have had to work at the bakery, but there were still house chores that needed to be done. His new family insisted on sharing the responsibilities, but Itachi was more than happy to take on an extra task or two when he had the time. Everyone else had such tasking jobs, after all, while Itachi got to enjoy and relax in his new line of work.

If someone told Itachi that he'd get to work as a baker for the rest of his life, he would have sent them to the hospital to get their head checked.

Low and behold, though, that was exactly what Itachi got to do.

His teacher was kind, in her own way, Itachi believed. Not only did she take on the worst burden Itachi was tasked to do, but she gave him a life _outside_ of violence. There was no pressure to follow in her footsteps for the sake of the clan. She encouraged his silly desire to bake instead of train, and even paid for him to go to a food school for a year.

Mikoto wouldn't have even gone that far for Itachi.

But Naasica did.

Others called her a demon in human skin, or a monster given a pretty face.

Itachi simply thought she was someone who had to do bad things for good reasons. She, Kakashi, and Obito all had to endure the Third Great War. Itachi could only begin to imagine the kind of horrors they had seen.

When the war was over the _official_ fighting might have stopped, but there was still a matter of collecting the bodies. There was a matter of hunting down all that went missing, and picking up the pieces of the broken countries they had fought in.

Itachi's worse memories were seeing the corpses of some of his clanmates, and finding Shisui in one of ROOT's bases under Konoha. Both were admittedly bad memories, but it was hard to compare them to the hundreds—if not thousands—of awful things Naasica, Kakashi, and Obito saw.

Anyone would turn a little twisted if put through that.

However, despite all of that, the three of them still had moments of kindness. Naasica was gentle at home, and did her best to support the family. Obito went around the village in his free time to help the elderly. Kakashi volunteered at an animal shelter in his free time, going above and beyond to find homes for animals.

They were good people, believed Itachi. Good people who were forced to do bad things for good reasons.

That didn't make them monsters.

Itachi headed out of his room and toward the kitchen. It had been Obito's turn to make the meals that day, so there was a plate of grilled fish, rice, and salted bamboo all wrapped up neatly on the table. Since there was only one plate, that meant everyone else had already eaten, except Itachi.

Which made sense. Minato was always out of the house by six hundred, with Raion following right behind him. Since becoming Genin, Naruto and Sasuke both followed suit. Naasica, Obito, and Kakashi were more sporadic in their hours. At times it seemed like Naasica never slept, and Obito and Kakashi rarely slept for more than three hours at a time.

You'd be more likely to catch them napping throughout the day—an hour here, an hour there—than see them actually sleep in their beds at night.

Shisui was on a rotating shift at the hospital—although he had taken the month off per Naasica's request—so sometimes he was gone for days at a time, and other times he would do nothing but sleep.

Itachi took his breakfast and reheated it quickly before taking a seat at the table and eating.

He debated on what he was going to do today. Laundry was put up to dry yesterday, so Itachi decided he would put it away today. Afterwards, he'd go to the store and pick up some ingredients to bake something nice for everyone.

Itachi set about doing exactly that, but before he could head to the store there was a commotion at the front door.

"Come on Sakura-chan," Naruto urged gently.

"W-We'll get you into the bath," Hinata said.

Itachi didn't hear Sakura's response, but he could certainly _smell_ something.

The sickeningly sweet and sour stench of rotting flesh, to be exact.

Curious, and concerned, Itachi moved towards the front room to find Naruto and Hinata assisting a gore-covered Genin. Itachi instinctively activated his Sharingan, rushing to her side and wondering what exactly happened.

Naruto didn't startle when Itachi appeared next to him. The blonde Senju looked up pleadingly, "Help, please?"

"What happened?" Itachi asked, gently touching the pinkette. She barely registered it, her gaze staring off at something unseen.

"S-Sensei," Hinata hesitantly began, her voice oddly cracking.

"Did she fall into one of Naasica's traps?" Itachi questioned. The legendary trio had set up a brutal obstacle course to put their Genin teams through. It wouldn't surprise Itachi if one of those traps involved grotesque things like a rotting pig.

"She," Naruto bit out with a growl, "made Sakura-chan climb through this—this— _pit_!"

 _A pit filled with gore?_ Itachi concluded. It was definitely plausible.

It also sounded remarkably like what happened to Kakashi during one of the clean up missions. He fell into a mass grave, depleted of chakra, and was nearly buried alive. Thankfully Obito had stopped by to check on him, and rescued him, but Kakashi would describe the experience as one of his more unpleasant memories.

Itachi wouldn't think Naasica and Obito would make Kakashi relive that memory through their Genin, though. Unless...

"Was Kakashi there?" Itachi inquired, carefully picking Sakura up in his arms and carrying her to the main bath.

"No?" Naruto answered, though it came out like a question.

 _Makes sense..._ Itachi noticed how Naruto and Hinata were hovering around Itachi and Sakura. _Didn't Naruto dislike Sakura?_

It certainly didn't appear that way anymore.

"I'll get her cleaned off," Itachi told them. "Hinata-chan, would you please get her some clothes? Naruto, why don't you make up some tea?"

Both were reluctant to do that, but when Itachi asked them to do so again they left. Itachi carried Sakura into the bathroom, carefully removing her clothes and turning on the shower hose.

 _Why would they put them through a gore filled pit?_ Itachi wondered. _Wouldn't this traumatize her?_

_We went through this and we're fine. If this much breaks them, then we have no use for them._

That was exactly the kind of thought process they would have.

The war undoubtedly made the legendary trio closer. There was no war this time around to bring their Genin together.

Itachi wondered if they even knew how to bond outside of what they went through. Come to think of it, they didn't interact with anyone outside of fellow veterans, and family.

 _Are they intentionally putting their Genin through similar experiences to make them come closer? Or do they not realize what they're doing?_ Itachi wondered, scrubbing away the dried blood. The child barely reacted when Itachi had to pull out bits of intestines out of her hair.

 _Or this could have only been an act to desensitize. By showing the worse, things look easier in comparison,_ Itachi reasoned. _So they might think. Regardless..._

Sakura would either break from what she saw and leave the Genin Corps, or she would come out with a higher resilience toward seeing such atrocities.

Additionally, Naruto and Hinata both seemed to become more attached to Sakura through watching her go through this pit. If Sakura chooses to stay, the team might grow closer from this incident.

If she left it might harden Naruto and Hinata even more so against her replacement.

All outcomes would have been fine by Naasica's standards.

It wouldn't surprise Itachi if Naasica genuinely believed she was being kind to Sakura by doing this now.

Naasica _was_ kind.

Her kindness just didn't come across as such sometimes.

But Itachi knew better. He may not have been a true sensor, but with his Sharingan he could see glimpses over her chakra.

Like black fire, it burned around her entire being. It promised to only devour monsters.

As long as you weren't a monster, you would be safe from her.

Which was fine by Itachi.

The world could do without monsters.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(KISAME)**

Kisame took a big drink out of his favorite drink in the whole world: the pink panther. It was a pretty thing, filled with bright pink tea, topped with a decadent cream and strawberries. It even came with a swirly straw, and was kept inside of a glittery cup.

It was something he only allowed himself to get when he was with Naasica.

His partner was relaxing across the table from him, the duo in their favorite sweet shop and hidden away from onlookers so she could eat without her mask.

Kisame started to eat the petite mini cakes. "I've taken on my own Genin team."

Naasica paused briefly from devouring her molasses cookies. "Oh?"

"Yes," Kisame told her, a grin stretching over his face. "They're going to completely eat your kiddos alive in the upcoming exams."

"Oh-ho?" Naasica mused, raising a single, perfectly trimmed eyebrow. "You prepared to put your money where your mouth is, my darling?"

"Loser is the winner's slave for the next week," Kisame suggested, already anticipating all the blackmail he'd be able to get on her once he'd won.

Naasica's face twitched briefly before it morphed into what Kisame could only describe was her "Court face." She batted her eyes, curled her lips, and forced only a touch of blush onto her face. It was the kind of face that made weak men fall head over heels in love with her, and it was something she absolutely took full advantage of.

Obviously it didn't work on Kisame. Once you saw a woman wipe brain matter off her cheek, still covered head to toe in intestines and blood, you just... you just didn't look at her in any other way than someone who will absolutely cut off your dick if you piss her off. Hot or not, Kisame could fully admit viewing Naasica as anything other than his partner and friend would only result in playing a very dangerous game.

Namely a very dangerous game for his mini-Kisame and that was where he drew the line.

She purred, "But Kisame, you're already my slave."

He threw a cake at her She laughed with delight, catching it and taking a big bite out of it.

"Okay, okay. Only three days, though. If I do lose—which will be impossible, really—I don't want to spend more than three days out of Konoha."

Kisame agreed to those terms, chuckling. "Such an arrogant little queen you are."

Naasica laughed. "A queen, huh?"

"A queen of the shadows," Kisame amended. "Pulling the strings and shaping the world with hardly anyone knowing the wiser. Do you ever plan on stepping into the light, bloody queen?"

"I'll save the spotlight for Madara-sama," Naasica answered honestly. "He's much better suited to such. I'd prefer to remain on the sidelines with you, if that's alright."

"Sure, sure," Kisame said easily, drinking his pink panther tea.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** Howl's Moving Castle holds a special place in my heart, and Ghibli movies have been a huge inspiration for me.
> 
>  **Question:** What do you like about yourself? You can't say nothing.
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	30. Wave

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

" _ **Everyone is cheating, constantly competing,  
So many are dying,  
Nothing stops the fighting,  
People will desire what they can't acquire  
Happiness, they dream of what's ahead - just out of reach."**_

_**-Sam Luff, Solitude** _

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(KISAME)**

Kisame sipped on his on drink, completely relaxed. His legs were submerged in a pool as he sat on the edge, watching his adorable students train with his sharks.

He had tied their hands together, gave them some weights, and told them to keep a float for an hour while fending off his sharks. The idea was for them to use their chakra to do so—either by manipulating it to do a bastardized water walk, or some other creative way.

If they started to drown, his sharks would push them back up, but they'd get a little nibble, too.

About halfway into the hour, the sharks would also start trying to pull them down.

His cute little students did _not_ enjoy that.

He outright laughed when Seiko panicked and accidentally froze Reo and Itsuki.

 _What fun,_ Kisame thought.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(HOTORO)**

In the capital of Water sat a handsome man.

He was wrapped head to toe in expensive clothing and adornments. His pale skin was well-tended to, and he had big almond shaped green eyes. His long white hair was pulled into a neat bun, and the attractive man sat with perfect poise and grace in his office.

Like the man, the office was gorgeous. It had rows upon rows of archaic scrolls and textbooks, and there were priceless artifacts perfectly placed in between the shelves. The carpet was a deep royal blue, and every piece of furniture had an immaculate drawing carved into it.

Truly, the office and the man were pieces of art for the eye.

Unfortunately the man kept frowning, as he was feeling more than a little stressed out.

Lord Hotoro Usashi was the daimyo of Water.

And he was in a very, _very_ bad spot.

With the destruction of Kirigakure, his entire country had suffered tremendously. They lost their biggest military power, and his homeland had become filled with chaos and anarchy. There were no shinobi to enforce order, or protect his borders, and Hotoro knew it was only a matter of time before the other countries swooped in for the kill.

He needed Kirigakure, and he needed it _now_.

Oh, how he wished he had paid better attention to the civil war. He wished he had sent in troops to support the Mizukage instead of sitting idly by. He hadn't realized how crucial his village was until it was stomped to the ground by the rebellion and he lost _thousands_ of people.

Thousands of soldiers.

His samurai were working overtime just to keep the capital and nearby villages safe from the roaming raiders. Hundreds upon hundreds of refugees flooded into his precious city, more than tripling the homeless population and causing Hotoro's more prejudice nobles to throw temper tantrums in his courtroom.

Oh, yes, Hotoro was in a tight spot indeed.

He wished, fervently, there was a way to turn back time and undo his negligence. He would never take Kirigakure for granted again.

But it was too late, and now Hotoro had to deal with the devil to save his country.

 _I need a village. I need a powerful village that will save my country_.

There was a knock at his door, and beautiful dark-skinned aide opened it. She stepped in, gave a tight smile to Hotoro and said, "Your guest has arrived, Hotoro-sama."

"Thank you, Mani-san," Hotoro said, forcing himself into a regal posture. Mani inclined her head and left the room temporarily before returning with Hotoro's guest.

Hotoro prayed to whatever deity that was listening that this deal wouldn't be his undoing. Hotoro greeted his guest with a polite smile and said, "Thank you for joining me... Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru smiled back, and it sent chills down Hotoro's spine. "Thank you for your kind offer, Usashi-dono."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(NARUTO)**

Naruto had a pit in his gut that wouldn't go away since yesterday. It felt like someone reached into his stomach and turned it like a doorknob, twisting it all up. He hated the feeling, and wanted it to go away.

It didn't help that the feeling only got worse every time he saw Naasica.

Yesterday changed everything.

He knew— _he knew_ that she was considered a _demon_ by most. He knew she had a fearsome reputation, and she scared a lot of people. Naruto had even seen her scary sides a few times here and there, but it was never, _ever_ directed at him or the family.

Oh sure her training could be brutal, and it hurt like a you wouldn't believe, but she was also the one who patched them up.

She was the one that taught him how to read, write, and helped him with his homework. She was the one that rocked him back to sleep at night after nightmares.

She was the one who chased away the monsters under the bed.

So while Naruto knew she was supposed to be some kind of ferocious demon that devoured enemies of Konoha, he didn't quite _get it_.

Until yesterday.

It wasn't the animal gore that got it. He'd butchered plenty of animals on the hunting trips Obito and Kakashi took him out on.

_There were humans in that pit._

Living, breathing _people_ that had lives. Had loved ones.

And down in that pit they had been _mutilated_.

To add insult to injury, Naasica threw in his teammate into that vile pit and watched on— _with a fucking smile_ —as she traumatized Sakura.

She smiled!

_She smiled!_

She looked genuinely frigging _happy_ to see Sakura go through that. She even looked downright _proud_ of her work today, when Sakura showed up today at team practice. Naruto may not have been fond of Sakura before hand, but _no one_ deserved to go through that kind of gross perturbed pit of disgusting inhuman decency.

That's what really bothered Naruto so much.

It felt like Naasica didn't _see_ them as people. It felt like she didn't see _any_ of them as people.

 _Does she only see me as a tool?_ Naruto wondered, and it made his heart ache.

The fact that he couldn't outright deny that statement was plain wrong.

It was inhuman.

_It was demonic._

Could anyone be able to completely butcher a human being for the sake of scaring a little girl into obedience? To burn their corpses, rip out their guts, and disfigure their faces? These people—these people who had families. Who loved, and had a morning routine, and probably liked some of the same food as Naruto—

Used to terrify a civilian girl—

 _No. Not a civilian anymore,_ Naruto corrected herself. Sakura went through that awfulness, and came back. She'd more than earned Naruto's respect, and deserved to be called a kunoichi.

Regardless... what Naasica had done deeply bothered Naruto.

When training was done that day Naruto had immediately returned home and laid down in bed. His chest _hurt_ when he kept thinking about Naasica, and the nausea inside of him wouldn't go away.

He couldn't bring himself to eat breakfast or lunch, and he doubted he would be able to eat dinner either.

There was a knock at the door, the sound stirring Naruto from his thoughts. The door opened up and Obito stepped in with a tray of dinner. "Hey, kiddo. An evil princess told me you haven't been eating today."

 _Evil is right,_ Naruto reflexively thought, then felt bad about it. Like he was betraying her by thinking these things.

_But good people don't do what she did, right?_

"Not hungry," Naruto grunted.

"Mm," was all Obito said, taking a seat on the bed. "What's going on, kiddo?"

"Nothing."

"Look," Obito cut in. "There's clearly _something_ going on, so you better spill before I bring out the tickle fiend."

Naruto reflexively shielded his armpits. "That's extremely mean."

Obito put on a big toothy grin. "Yeah, I know. So what's up? Hime said you seemed kinda mad at her."

Naruto chewed on his bottom lip before he slowly sat up. "... Yeah."

Obito stretched out an arm and pulled Naruto into his lap. Naruto wanted to protest that he was too old, but a childish part of him felt comforted by the embrace. He hadn't sat in anyone's lap in a couple years, wanting desperately to prove to the adults in the house that he was ready to be a shinobi. Naruto curled into Obito, the tall man patting Naruto's back comfortingly.

"Why'd she do that?" Naruto finally asked. "She killed those people in there, didn't she? And then she... tore 'em up. For what? To scare Sakura-chan?"

Obito kept rubbing Naruto's back for a few minutes, waiting to see if Naruto had anything else to add before he spoke. "Naruto... what do you think you're going to do on your first mission out of the village?"

"Protect people."

"And if the person you're supposed to protect gets attacked? What are you going to do to the enemy? Are you going to let them go when you're done?"

Naruto bit on the inside of his cheek. He knew the right answer. He _knew_ he was supposed to say kill them. That's what they were taught in the academy.

But being told to do something, and actually doing it—actually _seeing_ it in person was—

"You can't let them go though," Obito said, as if he sensed Naruto's doubt. "If you let people go, they'll come back for their revenge. They always do, Naruto."

"So you kill 'em... and _mutilate_ them?"

"You kill them," Obito confirmed gently. "Because if you don't, then they'll kill you, or someone you love."

"But—"

"You aren't going to be killing innocents," Obito consoled Naruto. "All you have to do is make sure the bad people don't get a chance to hurt anyone else."

Naruto closed his eyes. He knew that. He _knew_ that, but something still didn't sit right with him. The pit inside of his stomach didn't ease up from Obito's words.

"Naruto, what would you do if someone tried to hurt Naasica?"

"I'd protect her," Naruto told Obito. That was an easy answer. Even if he was mad at Naasica, and even if she only thought of him as a tool—he loved her. Naruto loved her more than anyone else in the world because _she_ raised him. She was his mom.

Would he kill for her?

Naruto thought, if it really came down to it, he would. To protect his mom, he'd do whatever it took. Even if that action made him feel sick in the heart.

"What would you do if someone tried to hurt Sakura?"

"I'd protect her, too," Naruto said, but that one didn't come as easily.

Would he be okay to kill for her, too? He didn't really know her. To be honest, he didn't really think much of her at all before yesterday. She was nosey, loud, and obnoxious. She didn't bring anything good to the team, and to be frank, Naruto thought she was more of a deadweight than asset. She was _so_ far behind everyone else, after all.

Now, though? He thought she was pretty cool. Not only did she come back to the team, but she still treated Naasica with plain admiration. During their training today, Naruto noticed that she wasn't as scrawny as before. She almost had as much muscle as Hinata.

He actually caught himself thinking, more than once, that she might actually be a good teammate.

But would he _kill_ for her?

"When I was about your age, hime, 'Kashi, and I had this mission in the capital," Obito began, his voice barely above a murmur. "We were supposed to rescue some runaway heiress. We found her pretty quick, and as it turns out she had been kidnapped by a slave cartel. She was kept with over a dozen other people, all of them chained up and drugged out of their minds. We, the three of us, didn't know anything about the cartel. We didn't know where all the guards were, or who we were up against. We were completely on our own, in a city that we couldn't even trust. Naruto... what would you do in that situation?"

"Save everyone," Naruto said, since that seemed like the obvious answer.

Obito chuckled, but Naruto thought it was without humor. "Then you would have made the same mistake I did."

"Mistake?"

"I pleaded with them, 'Kashi, and hime, for us to save them all. They warned me against it, but I chose to put these strangers before my teammates, and mission. So 'Kashi took the heiress, since she was our priority, and headed back. Hime and I gathered everyone up, and she used her clones to carry them to the sewers. But we were caught by the guards, and _they_ were powerful. I could hardly do a damn thing against one of them, and ended up getting saved by hime. But in the process, she got her throat slashed out and almost died.

"I couldn't do a single thing to save anyone. I had to rely on hime to get the victims out, and I couldn't even protect her against the guards. I chose to try and save everyone, and in the process I nearly lost my most precious person," Obito finished softly, letting out a long sigh. "Naruto, if you can't handle the hard choices, if you can't kill to save your own teammate, then you need to quit right now. You need to change careers, and become a civilian. Naruto, if The Pit has broken you, _you need to stop_.

"Because it _will_ get worse. You will have to kill to protect the people you love, and you will have to sacrifice a _lot_ of things for the sake of the village. This is not something to take lightly, and it's not something you should accept easily. You have a choice, Naruto, and once you make it, you can't take it back. We gave you a glimpse of what's out there, because we want you to be as prepared as possible. Naruto, think long and hard about what you've seen so far. Because if you choose to keep to this career, you'll be seeing a _lot_ more of it.

"And please do know... we—all of us—will support you wherever you choose to go. We will love you no matter your choice."

Obito kissed the top of Naruto's head, and placed him back on the bed before he stood up. He smiled warmly at him. "Eat up, though, okay? If you don't, hime will tie you to the bed and force feed you."

Naruto looked down at the food, his mind going over everything that was said. "... 'Kay. Are you... gonna talk to Nee-chan, now?"

"Nope. Gonna have the exact same talk with Sasuke," Obito said cheerfully. "Bugger was glaring at me all day, too!"

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(NAASICA)**

All of our students showed significant improvement, most notably with Sakura, Ino, and Chōji.

Sakura seemed to have an intuitive grasp on how to use the bow, and her speed and accuracy _actually_ impressed me. She was getting the hang of conjuring different types of arrows, and I had no doubt in my mind she'd make one hell of a sniper.

Her long ranged threat was downright dangerous, and I _loved_ it.

Ino was picked to be a long-ranged fighter by Obito, as well. Unlike Sakura, though, she was born with a decent chakra reserve and _could_ use ninjutsu. Even better, it turned out that she had a dual affinity: raion _and_ fūton.

Boy was Obito gleeful when he figured that out. He immediately put her to work to mastering her change in chakra nature, and she was doing pretty well in learning the low-level jutsus.

Ino and Sakura had once again picked up their rivalry, but over a different topic now. While Sakura had Ino beat in accuracy and range, Ino's attacks had a more devastating feel to them, and were aoe (area of effect). The two kept arguing over which type of attack was better. Something loud and explosive like Ino's that could take out multiple targets, or something quiet and fast like Sakura's that could eliminate one or two targets at a time without drawing attention.

Both had their merits, and both had their disadvantages.

Regardless, it was entertaining to see the two kunoichis bickering back and forth over _interesting_ things.

It was also nice to see them both become so _well adjusted_ after the pit. Neither of them flinched when gore was brought into the equation, and Sakura had even developed a flippant attitude about it.

Honestly, could _not_ have been happier about that outcome.

Chōji had lost nearly all of his fat, and it was replaced with tight muscles. He was more lean than big, but as he grew older I knew he'd bulk up. He was turning into an absolute _menace_ in taijutsu, though, and Kakashi was currently teaching him how to use a staff to help close some distance. Since Chōji had a chakra affinity for doton Kakashi was planning on setting him up as a juggernaut, or tank. He could use some doton ninjutsu to prevent people from escaping his close range, or use underground-walking (a high level doton technique that Kakashi _loved_ ) to rapidly close the distance for a surprise attack.

Unfortunately, Chōji wasn't as well adjusted from The Pit as the girls. He still had a natural aversion to excess gore, and was reluctant to use lethal force.

Since he was still okay to beat someone down to a state of unconsciousness, Kakashi was hoping that he'd gain his murderous desire after a few trips out in the field. Maybe if he saw a monster he might snap and kill it.

Or it might break his mind and we have send him back to his family with a shrug and _oops_.

Only time would tell.

Hinata was growing in a predictable pattern. Although I noticed her eyeing Sakura more than usual with a _gleam_ in her eyes.

Seemed like Hinata was _thoroughly_ impressed by Sakura overcoming The Pit and hormones came a'knocking.

Thankfully Naruto was too young for puberty to hit, so I didn't have to worry about _that_ unpleasant mess for a couple more years.

Speaking of my sunshine, he had figured out how to makeshift fly using fūton, and he was a smug boy about it. It was far from the graceful techniques used by Iwagakure, but being able to fly through the air would undoubtedly serve him well, and may even save his life. He was trying to master all his techniques to be used without the use of handseals, in addition to perfecting his weapon training.

Sasuke was equally impressive, now able to create triple layered genjutsus with and without his Sharingan. His weapon training was steadily improving under Obito's watchful eye, and he had mastered two long-ranged jutsus to snipe foes from a distance. While Sasuke may not have a lot of flashy skills, what he had he _perfected_ and I knew he would be a force to be reckoned with.

Shino, like Sasuke, didn't really have visually stunning abilities. He was learning genjutsu alongside his teammate, and his taijutsu was something to be proud of. He'd never get a chance to learn powerful ninjutsu techniques, but Obito had Shino pick up a crossbow and botany. He was hoping to have Shino learn to coat the crossbow arrows in poison to help mitigate the danger of long-ranged opponents.

Or, you know, people who used fire a lot.

Poison and genjutsu was a classic mix, after all. The only reason Sasuke wasn't picking it up was because he _could_ learn ninjutsu and our broody boy much preferred that.

Kiba was a noticeable improvement since Kakashi forced him to stop training with Akamaru. While the Inuzuka Clan could use devastating techniques, it was just downright stupid to be so heavily dependent on another living organism to do _anything_. Kakashi had him mastering taijutsu on his own, and using dual blades. He didn't have the reserves to learn about big jutsus, but Kakashi thought that was fine. Kiba would instead be more of a track-and-trapper, and Kakashi had him learn all about booby traps in his free time. He'd plan on teaching Kiba some genjutsus that would make it easier to hide his traps, and herd his opponents through them, and Kiba would still have to be a good enough fighter in case his traps failed.

Lastly was Shikamaru, who Kakashi had a personal investment in. Honestly, I didn't entirely know how Kakashi was training him after we got his physicality up to snuff. In the team assessments, Shikamaru only used his clan techniques or taijutsu, so it was hard to see what Kakashi was teaching him.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

After three months of brutal grinding, our teams had finally reached a satisfactory point.

Today, we would be taking each team out on their first C-Rank.

Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata stood tall and proud behind me as we waited for Minato to give us a mission. The Hokage didn't normally assign missions personally, but when he found out that we would be giving our teams their first C-Rank—their first mission outside of Konoha—he made the exception.

He had already went over the assessments we had submitted about our team—we were required to hand in monthly reports about our progress—and was pleased about the results.

"A C-Rank, huh? Well, if the mighty hime herself thinks you're ready, then I'm inclined to agree," Minato said with his usual charming smile. Although his eyes lost their twinkle after Kushina's death, so it didn't have as much of an impact as it did before. "Your mission is a simple escort. Please ensure your client returns safety to his home."

At Minato's nod, one of the guards opened up the door behind us that lead to the client room. A middle-aged drunk stumbled into the room, nervously clutching a bottle of alcohol. His eyes roamed about until they settled on us and he snorted. "A bunch of kids are supposed to protect me?"

"These children are skilled Genin of this village," Minato said, still smiling. "Accompanying them is one of our greatest Jōnin."

I put on my client face, instantly turning up the charm. "Hello. I am Senju Naasica, and these are my students: Senju Naruto, Hyūga Hinata, and Haruno Sakura."

Each of my students nodded polite to the client, and Tazuna's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Hmph. I see. I'm Tazuna, please protect me."

"Of course," I demurred. "I have a perfect mission record . I have no intentions of letting that become flawed. Are you ready to leave now, Tazuna-san?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'll escort you to the front gate. Genin, make sure you're packed and then meet us at the gate."

Like good little child soldiers, they saluted, and obeyed.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The moment we stepped outside the gates, both Hinata and Naruto looked at everything with impossibly wide eyes. Understandable, given that neither of them had ever ventured outside of Konoha in their entire life.

Naruto was our jinchūriki, on top of being Minato's son. Our enemies would have leapt at the chance of a toddler Naruto being caught outside of our precious village. While Minato trusted us to do everything we _could_ to keep Naruto safe, he was still deeply disturbed by his failure to save Kushina. He was reluctant to put his son through _any_ kind of risk, and it was honestly a bit of struggle for him to allow Naruto to even join the academy.

As the Hokage, he couldn't outright deny using Naruto as a shinobi. A jinchūriki was nothing to sniff at, and his son—at the very least—should know how to defend himself. As the years went by, Minato slowly came to the acceptance that Kushina would have wanted Naruto to choose his own path, regardless of the dangers.

So he allowed his son to become a child soldier, because that was what Naruto wanted to do.

Even if his paternal instincts told him otherwise.

Hinata, like Naruto, was sought after by our enemies. When she was only four years old she had almost been kidnapped. Her father stopped the Kumo shinobi, but had come to the conclusion that Hinata would not be safe outside of Konoha until she had become a proper kunoichi.

It certainly didn't help that Kumo had the _gall_ to demand for Hiashi's head afterward for the death of their ambassador.

Good thing Minato sent my team to clean up _that_ mess.

_Ah... I can still remember the look on Ay's face..._

But I was getting sidetracked.

Sakura noticed both of their reactions, and her brow furrowed in confusion. "You two okay?"

"Yeah, we're great!" Naruto exclaimed, still walking forward with big round eyes. "We've never been outside of Konoha before, though."

"Wow, really?" Sakura asked, genuinely surprised by that.

"Our fathers can be a tad protective," Hinata said with a slight giggle. She looked over at Sakura with gleam in her eyes, and a sweet smile on her face. "Have you been outside the village, Sakura-chan?"

"A few times," Sakura admitted, her right hand reflexively going up to touch the bow strapped to her. "My uncle owns a bathhouse in Hozo."

"A bathouse... you don't mean the Spring's Inn?" Tazuna asked, his gruff voice tinged with curiosity.

Sakura nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah. Have you visited it?"

"A long time ago. It was a beautiful place," Tazuna answered, a big grin stretching over his face. "Hard to believe the niece of such a prestigious inn is a kunoichi, though!"

"Sakura-chan's a badass," Naruto boasted proudly.

At the same time, Hinata quickly said, "Sakura-chan is a remarkable kunoichi."

Sakura's face tinged with pink, her lips twitching as she fought against beaming with joy. "I-I don't know about that. I have a lot of work ahead of me."

"We all do," Hinata agreed, gently reaching over to touch Sakura's arm. "But you shouldn't underestimate yourself. You're—you're truly a wonderful kunoichi."

Hinata's face slowly turned red, and her stammers fell off as she awkwardly looked away.

"Hinata-chan?" Sakura gently inquired, concern on her face.

Hinata only turned redder, waving her hands in a dismissive manner. "Nothing. S-Sorry. W-We should get back to the mission."

Naruto nodded firmly, oblivious to his childhood friend's distress. "Yeah! Don't worry Tazuna-san, we'll take extra good care of you."

The client rubbed the back of his head. "Ah. Well, thank you."

I clapped my hands and said, "Alright, team. This is our first C-rank, let's keep it by the book. Hina-chan, you're on point. Use your Byakugan intermittently to survey our surroundings. Sakura-chan, stay at five hundred, and Naru-chan I want you at seven hundred."

"Where will you be, Sensei?" Sakura inquired.

"Nowhere you'll be able to see," I said, leaping up into the tree branches and out of view. I suppressed my chakra signature, and moved ahead a fair bit of distance to pre-survey the land. As long as I stayed in Hinata's Byakugan range, they wouldn't worry themselves too much.

I wanted to give them the chance to work on their own. Since it was an easy mission, and we would remain in our lands for a couple more days, now was a good opportunity.

I doubted this mission would turn into anything special.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The trek to Wave was entirely uneventful. My team performed well, each of them taking turns as lead, and ordering rest-stops for our client as needed.

It was until we actually reached the docks to take a boat to wave that Tazuna nervously drew our attention.

"We... we have to sneak back onto the island," Tazuna admitted quietly, his voice trembling as he fiddled with his sake bottle. "Gato can't know that I've returned. He'll kill me."

"Gato?" I repeated, the name coming up as vaguely familiar. "He's... ah, the owner of Gato Corporation?"

"Yes. He's taken hold of our entire town and drained us dry. We're—we're starving ma'am," Tazuna's voice broke. "I've been working on a bridge for a while now, and as soon as it's complete we won't need to go through Gato anymore. I had to leave village to order new supplies, since Gato scared off, or killed the other merchants. He'll kill me, too, if he can."

 _Gato's only a civilian, and there have been reports of high ranked missing nin in the area,_ I thought. _This... might actually work in our favor._

I smiled at Tazuna. "Not a problem. We'll definitely protect you."

Tazuna sighed with relief. "Oh... oh thank you."

We waited for the boat Tazuna had arranged to arrive and then we hitched a ride to the island. Upon landing, I decided to split up the team.

"Hmm. Naruto, Hinata, go hunt," I instructed. "Catch as much fish as far out as you can, without getting caught. Do a little reconnaissance on the outskirts, as well. I want to make sure there are no nasty surprises surrounding the island. Sakura, I want _you_ to go into town and assess it."

"Wha—how come Sakura-chan gets to do the cool spy stuff?" Naruto complained, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout. "I'm the best at stealth."

"Which is why you don't need the practice," I retorted. "You're shit at fishing, and there will be times where you'll _need_ to fish to feed yourself. I want Hinata to be focused on gathering information on the outskirts, not you."

Naruto groaned. "Fine!"

"I'll remain here to guard Tazuna and his family. None of you all better get in trouble, or I'll whip your asses when we get back," I threatened. I doubted that would be any kind of issue, though.

There was no _real_ threat on this island.

Or, at least, nothing _I_ couldn't handle.

My trio of students saluted, and headed off while I returned Tazuna to his home.

_I hope they get to see monsters._

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(SAKURA)**

Sakura would be the first to admit that her family was well-off. Perhaps not rich, like her teammates, but certainly not _poor_. She never had to grow up wondering if she would get dinner, or not. She never had to worry about clothes, shoes, or other simple things. When she asked for things, as long as she was well-behaved, she usually got them.

She didn't live in a poor neighborhood, either. She had visited Konoha's poorest district—the Red Light district—but she didn't find it distasteful. Konoha kept its streets clean, and had shelters and orphanages to make sure everyone was off the street. The children in the orphanages were well cared for—physically, at least—since Konoha was well-off enough to provide the necessary budgets. The village had universal healthcare, and free clinics in the Red Light district. The schools were heavily enforced, so _all_ children had education regardless of their status.

Konoha, in general, was a _nice_ village. Its "poverty" was considerably better than some of the middle class districts in other villages.

So, what Sakura was trying to say is that she had never experienced poverty.

Sakura had never _truly_ even seen poverty.

She had never seen what horrors monsters could inflict upon the innocents, and up until that point she thought the worst thing that could happen to a person was death.

A dirt road served as the main street, with run-down foul-smelling buildings lining up on either side of it. Some of the huts—for she really couldn't call them homes—had boarded up windows, and the rest had gaping holes in the walls. She couldn't dismiss the dark stains splatted the homes, and her intellect immediately identified the dark marks as dried blood.

Faces, gaunt, dirty, and too thin to belong to the living, peered at her from the windows. Sunken eyes watched her, hungry, and wary. The few bodies she saw out in the open were so thin a good wind would blow them away, their stomachs bloated and grotesque from their starvation.

As Sakura stared at them, she had never felt so utterly horrified on someone's behalf before. She had thought death would be cruel to anyone—but how was this _not_?

She had read how painful starvation was. She had read how some would lose their minds to hunger that they would turn on their own friends and family.

Sakura had thought that a silly tale.

Now she didn't.

She had visited hell, had felt demons chase her—touch her—but that had not prepared her to see so many innocent people trapped in a monster's domain. She had thought corpses were awful, but now she was witnessing the living dead.

 _How can they walk with such skinny legs?_ Sakura thought in horror, as she saw tiny children wobble over to her. Their limbs might as well have been twigs. Her heart twisted in pain, her stomach dropping, and when one of them tripped toward her she couldn't stop herself from catching him.

He was _so_ small. He trembled in her arms, sunken eyes looking up at her in disbelief.

She could snap his arms and legs if she put even a smidgeon of effort into it.

That simply... that simply couldn't be.

How was this allowed?

_Who did this?!_

She didn't realize she had pulled her pack off her back, and dumped out all of her rations. She didn't care. She would hunt for food. She didn't care if Naasica-sensei punished her. She didn't care if she got rebuked, and had to pay for new ones. All she cared about was doing _something_ to help these poor people.

But she didn't come prepared with enough food for every person, nor was she a trained medic like Shisui-sensei.

She wished Shisui-sensei was here, because he would definitely know what to do.

"Take them," Sakura pleaded with the children who had gathered to her. She shoved the rations in their tiny, tiny fingers. "Please. Eat. Take all of these."

They grabbed at the bars, raspy voices croaking out, "Thank you, Nee-san."

They thanked her, took the food, and scurried away as if they were afraid she would change her mind.

She wouldn't.

She couldn't.

Sakura clutched tightly at her chest. A dark, burning anger ignited inside of her.

Sakura had never been one to encourage harm on others.

( _Even if she sometimes had some bad, awful, cruel thoughts_.)

But she thought that whoever was the cause of this deserved a little payback.

Because whoever was behind this was nothing short of an evil, vile, pathetic little worm.

And the world would be better off if Sakura squashed it under her boot.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(NAASICA)**

Sakura was the first to return, and _oh_ I loved that dark gleam in her eyes.

She saw something terrible, and the first embers of rage at what she saw were starting to show.

_What will break you, my little student? What will be the final straw that makes you hate this world?_

_What will it take for you to join me?_

I smiled at her, pleased with that look on her face. I patted my spot on the porch, and Sakura looked up sharply at the noise. She saw me, grimaced, and took a seat beside me. "Hello, Sensei."

"Hello, Sakura-chan," I returned, a warm feeling inside my gut from the thought of one of my students already joining me. "See something interesting?"

Her entire face twisted up into a dark fury, and a spike of murderous intent leaked out from her. Sakura clenched her hands tightly into fists, and she curled her lip back in disgust. "Poverty. Children starving. Blood, bile, and God knows what else covering the streets. These people are being _tortured_ , Sensei. We have to do something. We _have_ to help them."

Starving kids was definitely hard to see. Those that were truly impoverished, I visited as Owari and offered them sanctuary in Amegakure. All gleefully accepted, and all have joined the cause.

But it was rare to see an entire village impoverished outside of war.

The greed of a single man was truly impressive.

"Okay," I said with a smile, extremely happy with these events unfolding. "Let's wait for Naruto, and Hinata to return before we do anything."

Sakura's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. She clearly didn't expect me to agree. "Wh-What? R-Really? We'll help them?"

"Of course. I want to make this world a better place, after all."

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

We waited for Naruto and Hinata to return before we all headed inside. I had already become acquainted with Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami. Inari, Tazuna's grandson, had hidden himself in his bedroom upon my arrival. The poor thing seemed to instinctually shy away from me, the color draining from his face as soon as he saw me. Tsunami had apologized profusely on behalf of her son, ashamed he had turn tail and fled.

I accepted her apologies with a sweet smile, bemused the child believed me to be some kind of villain.

Children have such remarkable instincts.

After introductions were made, I headed out to sit on the front porch and await for my students to return.

It was such a lovely day outside, after all, and I wasn't in the mood to make small talk with unimportant clients.

"So," I said with a dark smile. "Sakura-chan thinks we should do something to help these poor people. What do you two think?"

"Sure," Naruto said with a shrug. "What's wrong with the people?"

"It's awful," Sakura blurted out, her eyes burning. "The whole town is filled with starving people—the children look like one good gust will break them in half!"

Naruto's face twisted up in disgust. "What the hell? There's tons of fish here, how's that happening?"

"I-I noticed there were some groups roaming around the outskirts," Hinata hesitantly put in. She bit on her bottom lip, thinking over her next choice of words carefully. "I do not wish to be so quick to judge, but... they appeared to be thugs."

"Thugs is a nice way of putting it," Tazuna snorted. "They belong to Gato... and that _bastard_ has been bleeding us dry. He takes all of our money, our clothes, our food, our homes... When we put up any resistance, he kills us. He killed my son, Inari's father, and countless others. We can't afford protection, and since Gato controls the boats, we can't bring in revenue. That's why I'm building the bridge—that's why I _have_ to finish it."

Sakura shook her head in disbelief. "Why is he doing all of this? What good does it do him to starve an entire village?"

"Monsters don't have reasons to be monsters," I silkily said to Sakura, the edges of my lips curling into a sneer. "They are abominations that suck the life and innocence out of this world. They don't have any _reason_ , Sakura-chan."

"Everyone has a reason," Naruto protested. "No one is just _evil_."

"I didn't realize a child who hasn't been outside of his village for more than a week was so _wise_." The toxic sarcasm in my voice made Naruto flinch, and the sunshine lowered his gaze.

"What can we do to help these people?" Hinata inquired, uncomfortable from my earlier venom. "Th-That's what we should be focusing on, right?"

"It's actually very simple," I said, brightening. "We go monster hunting!"

Sakura gasped. "We're going to kill Gato?!"

"Wh-What?" Tazuna yelped. "Y-You can't do that. Y-You're only children!"

"I don't see why not. I made my first kill when I was..." My brow furrowed as I thought. "Six? No, five?"

The horror on Tazuna's face made me want to laugh, but now wasn't the time for that.

Instead, I said, "As lead, I'm changing up this mission. In order to protect our client, I have deemed this Gato too dangerous to leave alive. My dear, sweet, soldiers, you're tasked with taking care of this threat. How lucky are you? Your first mission out, and you get to spill blood!"

Blood drained from Hinata and Naruto's faces, but there was a grim tightness in their posture. The spark in their eyes could only best be described as reluctant resolve. Yes, my precious students knew this day would come. They knew they were be ordered to take a life, and they had long since prepared for it.

But they did not accept this task with glee, nor satisfaction.

No.

These two saw it the same way Kakashi saw it: an unpleasant, unavoidable task.

So they steeled themselves, despite the way they very dearly didn't want to.

What good soldiers those two made.

_And dear, sweet, innocent little Sakura?_

Oh...

 _Oh_.

What a delicious fury in her eyes. I doubted she even realized it herself. That sort of sick, twisted, gleam of satisfaction in her eyes; the way her lips curled ever so slightly up.

There was no grim reluctance in her face.

No.

There was only _satisfaction._

 _Such a good girl,_ I thought with fondness.

Never would I have imagined that the pitiful civilian girl would have such a sadistic streak.

Where, oh where, did she hide all that pent up anger for all these years? How did she vent out her dark urges?

_Did she beat some poor boy up in the playground over, and over again? Did she made her enemies black and blue when the teachers weren't looking?_

What a joyous feeling I had!

Pride.

Yes.

I was so very _proud_ of that gleam in her eyes.

_Don't worry, my fellow hunter, I'll make you a proper kunoichi. I'll show you how to paint the world in the hues of your Red._

Was this what Madara felt when he taught me?

_My dear Madara-sama... I hope you'll be proud of what I have done._

Tazuna objected more, but the old man was no match for my level of persuasion. He relented, clutched even more tightly to his sake bottle, and told us to be safe.

I had Naruto set out and begin to scout. He was to account for every single one of Gato's allies, and Gato's fortress.

Given that all the enemies on the island didn't have chakra levels above civilian, I had Naruto go alone.

He may not have been looking forward to putting Gato's head on a pike, but he was thoroughly happy to be the lead scout on the stealth mission.

Hinata and Sakura had to set about making traps around Tazuna's house and the bridge. They had to make sure our client, and his family, would be safe while they were out, after all.

I would not be with them during this mission. I would send a clone to monitor from a safe distance, but I truly wanted to give them the chance to independently operate.

It was good experience.

Their ultimate goal was to eliminate all of Gato's thugs without anyone noticing. They would have to hide the bodies until they finished their task.

If any of the thugs were alerted, or if Gato found out, they would not be able to attend any more missions for an entire month.

What a lucky mission to have landed on. Such good live-fire practice for them.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(NARUTO)**

Naruto sketched out a rough outline of Gato's fortress. He always kept a small black notebook in his back pocket for exactly this purpose: to catalogue information found. He sent shadow clones all over the compound, each one dispelling when they finished assessing their area. Naruto sat on a rooftop a safe distance away, and wrote down all the information he had gathered.

So far Naruto hadn't encountered any issues. He wasn't a true chakra sensor, but he had _enough_ of a talent to differentiate chakra levels. Like, he could tell if someone was never trained in chakra, and he could tell people like Obitonii-chan or Naasicanee-chan were powerhouses when it came to chakra.

He was also a powerhouse, but he lacked the skill to properly utilize his entire reserves.

Gato's fortress was more of a luxury mansion than any kind of base a paranoid, greedy tyrant would use. There were _no_ traps set up, but it was instead solely defended by a bunch of low-level thugs. There were a few who had _some_ training—their chakra reserves were close to Sakura-chan's—but Naruto didn't feel like they were a threat.

In fact, he thought they would make really great target practice for Sakura. She'd only got to practice on targets, and animals, so she'd probably jump at the chance at getting to practice knocking humans out with her bow.

He'd have Sakura knock out the targets on the outer perimeter. Hinata would sneak onto the perimeter once enough of them were done, and she'd start working on the men inside while Naruto helped clean up the unconscious bodies. After everyone was neutralized, they'd all meet up to deal with Gato.

From the looks of it, Gato was still snoring away in his fancy-pancy bedroom. He'd probably still be asleep by the time they reached him, since Naruto planned to have them start as soon as he got back.

 _This is pretty cool,_ Naruto thought. _We get to save a whole village from an evil tyrant on our first mission. How badass are we?_

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(SAKURA)**

Naruto returned barely two hours after he left, the moon high up in the sky. None of them had really slept since arriving, but that was fine. They all had grown accustomed to running on little sleep, and frankly this mission was (physically) a thousand times easier than their training.

Sakura never wanted to endure the beginning of that hellish training ever again. She may not have been able to argue with results, but she could definitely say without a shadow of doubt that that was the hardest time in her entire life.

She had never been so damn _tired_ and in so much _pain_ , both mentally and physically before. Her mother looked particularly distressed during the whole thing, and more than once Sakura's mother had ran out of the room Sakura was in, crying.

Home started to become as stressful s as training. Dealing with her mother's odd hysterics, and her father's abrupt distance was difficult. Perhaps if Sakura had still be attending school, she could have better handled it. She could have sat down with her mother and talked it all out.

Unfortunately, she didn't have even an iota of energy by the time she got home. She barely managed to shovel down her dinner, lay in a bath for an hour, and then fall asleep.

If Sakura was a lesser person, she would have quit within the first three days.

She didn't, though, and she was proud of herself for that.

But she wouldn't want to go through it ever again.

Naruto laid out his plan: Sakura would snipe the outside patrols, and Hinata would sneak inside to work on the others. Naruto would move the bodies around and hide them, and then the trio would rendezvous outside of Gato's bedroom.

It was a simple plan, and Sakura felt prideful that she was chosen for a vital role.

She was also nervous about making her first kills.

She knew this day would come. She knew it logically in the academy, and emotionally when she endured The Pit.

And now that it was finally time, her nerves started to show. She fiddled with the beautiful bow strapped to her, and resisted the urge to lower her gaze.

 _I'm going to be a strong kunoichi like Naasica-sensei,_ Sakura told herself. Naasica-sensei was a war hero, and one of the greatest kunoichis to have existed. On top of her exemplary mission record, she had a strong relationship with the current daimyo, Mo, and was the creator of Hell Forest.

It could be argued that Naasica-sensei played the biggest role in ending the Third Great War.

She did so by massacring the enemy forces to such a degree, they simply couldn't afford to keep fighting.

This obviously meant that Naasica-sensei had taken a lot of lives for the sake of her village, and Sakura knew that she would be expected to do the same.

She thought she was prepared for it. She believed that once she had taken her first life it would be a life-changing moment, and Sakura would adapt and become _okay_ with the idea.

So why was she nervous?

They discussed the plans for a few more minutes, before they started to gather their stuff. Perhaps they should have been more extensive in planning, but all three of them were eager to finish.

Hinata was the first to head out, with Naruto following shortly behind. Sakura was only a minute late, but Naasica-sensei grabbed her hand and pulled her aside.

Naasica-sensei smiled at Sakura. Sakura thought it was a very pretty smile—Naasica-sensei was easily the most beautiful woman Sakura had seen—and Sakura felt herself relaxing from that smile.

At times her sensei could seem cruel, but then there were moments were warmth showed through and Sakura found herself admiring Naasica-sensei all over again.

"It's okay to be nervous," Naasica-sensei soothed, her tone gentle and sweet. Sensei tenderly brushed back a strand of Sakura's hair behind her ear. "But I want you to remember what you saw in that village today, Sakura-chan. Remember all those innocent civilians, and remember that these people guarding Gato see the same thing you do... And they choose to help the monster."

Sakura's stomach dropped, a surge of hot rage racing through her and heating up her entire body.

She hadn't really thought about that. She hadn't given much thought to the thugs protecting Gato, but now that she had—

_How dare they?!_

They weren't any better than Gato!

"These are the people who act on Gato's behalf... so these are the people who drag out those poor, kind, children out of their homes, while they do awful things to their parents," Naasica-sensei went on. Sakura didn't miss the pity in Naasica-sensei's tone, nor the underlining hint of disgust.

Naasica-sensei patted Sakura-chan's cheek, her smile stretching wider in a way that reminded Sakura of a cat who found a new toy. "I only want you to understand, Sakura-chan, that those people are no longer human. The moment they made their choice to hurt the innocent, they gave up their humanity. They're monsters now, Sakura-chan, and you don't need to feel _anything_ for doing what is right. You'll protect those villagers, won't you, Sakura-chan?"

"Of course," Sakura blurted out, her anger momentarily forgotten. "I'll make sure no one hurts them again!"

Sensei seemed delighted about this, a beautiful light sparkling in her eyes. "What a good girl. Go on, then, my dear. And do try to have fun!"

Sakura bowed her head, before she headed out to catch up with Naruto and the others.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

The trip to Gato's mansion went by quick.

The island was a dreary place, Sakura noticed. Even the trees seemed deprived of nutrients, and hope, and the heavy fog that persisted was downright depressing.

 _But soon they won't have to worry about Gato anymore,_ Sakura thought. The thought sent a jolt of warmth in her chest, and she fought to keep a smile off her face. _With Gato gone, and a bridge... they'll be saved._

Sakura caught up with her teammates, and Naruto guided her up in the trees where she had a good view of the entire mansion. The trio of them silently watched the patrols before Sakura made the first move.

Sakura cocked her bow, her chakra flaring to life and creating the bowstring and arrow. It didn't glow brightly, like one might think, but was instead a barely visible transparent white light. The arrow was hard to see in daylight unless Sakura put more chakra into it—the more chakra she put into the arrow, the further it would go. They were beginning their assault two hours before dawn, so there was hardly any visible light outside of the mansion's lanterns.

The first guard Sakura was aiming for was one who stood alone on a balcony. He was leaning against a back wall, so if Sakura took him out, no one would notice right away.

 _You don't need to feel_ anything _for doing what is right._

Sakura pulled the arrow completely back, and Naruto shifted his weight beside her. She could feel Hinata moving on other side, but Sakura didn't pay either of her teammates much attention.

_They're monsters now, Sakura-chan._

An image of the children from the previous morning flickered in Sakura's mind as she released the arrow.

It soared through the air, and between one blink and the next it found its target.

It dug itself squarely in the forehead of the grunt, who fell down, dead.

There was a minute of silence, as all three members of team seven processed what happened.

Sakura blinked, then twice, and wondered why she wasn't bothered.

She should have been at least a _little_ disturbed by what happened, right?

He was a human—

_No, he was a monster._

Oh.

Sakura's lips turned up in a smile, relieved.

_That's right. It was only a monster. Humans don't starve other humans. Humans don't make children orphans, or torture them._

That was why Sakura wasn't bothered. If she had actually killed a human, she would definitely be upset.

But why bother with a monster?

Sakura smiled at Naruto and Hinata and said, "I'm going to take care of them all. I don't want any of them to escape, and come back to hurt the villagers."

Naruto gaped at her. "But—But you— _you killed him_."

"Yeah," Sakura said, agreeing. "These people are helping Gato. Why should they be spared, when we're going to kill Gato? They're just as responsible. And what if we let them go, and they come back and hurt the survivors? They're monsters, Naruto-kun. We shouldn't let them get away."

Naruto's face screwed up. Incredulous, he asked, " _Monsters_?"

"That's what Naasica-sensei called them."

"S-Sakura-chan is right about one thing," Hinata quickly intervened. "Th-They might come back if we let them go. Okaa-sama says w-we shouldn't leave loose ends."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "Are you guys serious? We don't know anything about them, how can we judge them and kill them? We only have to kill Gato."

"Then kill Gato," Sakura retorted. " _I'm_ making sure they won't hurt anyone else again."

Naruto rubbed at his forehead, sighing through his nose. "Fine. Do what you want."

Sakura nodded firmly, her smile dropping. "Are you... are you still going to hide the bodies?"

Naruto rose his eyebrows, frowning. "Uh, _duh_. We're teammates. I'm not _so_ against the idea that I'd try to stop you, or leave you alone."

Both girls smiled brightly at Naruto.

"Let's get this done. I wanna hurry back and brag about how friggin cool and badass we are," Naruto declared.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**(NAASICA)**

I watched my trio of students with a fond smile on my face.

Naruto was doing a good job hiding how uncomfortable he was. If I hadn't been one of the people to raise him, I might have believed his mask.

Taking a life didn't sit well with my adopted son, and I doubted it ever would. There was too much of Kushina inside of him, and a deeply ingrained part of him wanted to believe the best in people.

But he grew up in a home where everyone was a killer, and it was considered the norm.

 _I'll have Kakashi talk to him,_ I thought to myself. Obito and I were comfortable with taking lives, and inflicting pain on those that displeased us. Kakashi didn't hesitate taking a life, but he was always the one to stop Obito or myself from "going too far."

He might be able to help Naruto become comfortable in his new profession. Or convince my dear sunshine to retire from the shinobi career and become a baker like Itachi. Either outcome was good.

 _Maybe he only needs more exposure,_ I thought, watching Sakura successfully snipe the grunts. _Sakura is a bit of an oddity for a civilian girl. Hisana had Hinata working on cadavers since the heiress was a toddler, so Hinata has likely become desensitized. I, on the other hand, tried to keep Naruto as innocent as I could. I didn't expose him to anything more severe than animal hunting on camping trips. The Pit was the first time he had seen human corpses._

_Should I give him all assassination missions from here on out until he's adjusted? Or would that be too much?_

Regardless, that was an issue to be dealt with after we returned. It was good that his first "hunting" mission was against proper monsters. I was certain they would all feel good when those poor villagers thanked them profusely.

Perhaps if I found more missions with monsters, and Naruto kept hunting monsters, he would become acclimated.

That seemed like a good idea regardless. Sakura appeared to be taking pleasure in her monster hunting. Her smiles, and sparkling eyes were truly adorable.

Hinata, while not against killing, didn't relish in it like Sakura. She was a proper professional, and reminded me of young Kakashi.

_Now that I think about it, Obito was a lot like Naruto. My Obito didn't enjoy killing, and he even tried to save others. But look at him now, a proper sadist!_

Maybe if I let things be, let Naruto grow on his own, he'd turn into Obito.

That would be lovely.

Hinata, the second version of Kakashi.

Naruto, the second version of Obito.

And Sakura, the second version of myself.

Oh, yes... what a lovely thought.

**(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Answer:** My love of stories.
> 
>  **Question:** What universe would you want to be reborn into?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	31. Sakura's Bridge

" _ **And the voice I heard that day,**_

_**Still it echoes on again,** _

_**It's just beyond my memory.** _

_**In my mind I'll shut the door** _

_**To all these intrusive thoughts,** _

_**I'm drowning out the noise!"** _

_**-Solitude by Sam Luff** _

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(INTERLUDE)**

The red-haired man knew The Darkness found him again.

He cursed as soon as he sensed the most vile, the most evil, and disgusting monster to have walked this realm of existence.

He wasn't ready to move on, but he had no choice.

The Darkness destroyed everything in its wake. Every friend the red-haired man had tried to make was murdered shortly afterward, and any home he thought to settle in was burned to ash.

He wondered if The Darkness was the first true evil.

It was vile enough to be.

Which made his goal of destroying it all the more important.

Uzumaki Rabu packed up his things and left before The Darkness reached him.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(RETURNING TO TEAM SEVEN - THIRD PERSON POV)**

Off his head went, and onto a pike Sakura found. She hoisted her prey up proudly, eyes sparkling like sunlight bouncing off the top of a lake. She turned to her two teammates, and they shared in her victory. Hinata politely clapped at Sakura's efficient kill, while Naruto grinned lopsidedly and praised her marksmanship.

The unease the blond felt about the massacre remained hidden in his heart. He didn't think it was fair, or right, but he wasn't certain it was wrong either. He was bothered by it, but he didn't know why or how.

He thought: They're humans. They have loved ones.

And he also thought: But I'm a shinobi now. Can I really care about this kind of stuff?

No one around him minded it.

So why did he?

Hinata was apathetic. Taking a life would never bother the girl, regardless of whose life she had to take. She was trained by her mother, and her mother instilled that belief deeply inside the heiress. Hinata was a tool for Konoha to use first, Hyūga second, and herself third.

She still believed in kindness and compassion, but those were things for herself and thusly were third on her priority. She was inordinately proud to see her other female teammate progress so rapidly. It took Hinata _years_ to grow comfortable with corpses, but Sakura had already taken it a step further and mutilated the dead body in order to present it to the town.

Hinata thought Sakura was a truly impressive kunoichi. To see such development in such a short period of time was... remarkable.

The three Genin shared smiles among each other, basking in the victory of their first mission. It would have been hard to believe that only a scarce few months ago the pinkette was viewed as a distasteful outsider. If one were to look at the now, they'd only see comraidere and respect between the trio.

Their teacher looked on in the shadows, a crooked smile on her face.

 _Yes,_ she thought, _nothing brings a team together better than death._

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

The declaration of Gato's death was done by the team of child soldiers. Sakura proudly threw down the pike with Gato's head on it in the center of the village and she bellowed out that they were free from his reign.

This met with stunned silence, and then as the adults realized the head was real and Gato was truly dead there was a thunderous roar of approval. Naruto shouted at the villagers to come with them to Gato's mansion and raid it for food, clothes, and other necessities. It barely took ten minutes for nearly the entire village to do so.

They feasted like kings and queens that night, and the corpses of Gato's grunts were unceremoniously dumped into a bonfire. There was laughter, singing, dancing, and genuine tears of joy.

The sheer happiness of the village helped ease the ache in Naruto's heart. By the end of the night, the boy of sunshine had convinced himself that Sakura did the right thing.

 _How could it be wrong to help so many people?_ Naruto figured. While he wished he could have avoided killing more than necessary, he couldn't argue with end results.

The party went on for days, and the entire village gathered together to finish Tazuna's bridge.

It was completed within a week, and with encouragement from Hinata and Naruto, it was named _Sakura Bridge_.

She was the one who took the killing shot, after all.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(NAASICA)**

Returning to Konoha was wondrous. My cute little soldiers rushed into the gate, all smiles and shining eyes. They presented their paperwork to the sentry, and then off we went to the hokage's office to report.

Of course we would not always report to the hokage's office, but since this was the team's first mission outside of the village, Minato was anxious to hear _all_ about it. I could tell they wanted to sprint directly to the office, but wisely chose not to leave me behind. As a team, we headed to the office, and as a team, we entered and presented ourselves.

"Team seven, reporting back from our mission," I said, smiling at Minato.

"Welcome back. Success, I take it?"

"Overwhelmingly so."

Minato didn't expect anything less, so he glanced over at his son. "Anything special to report?"

"We saved the entire village of Wave," Naruto proudly declared, his chest puffing up.

Minato raised an eyebrow at that. I nudged Sakura's back and the pinkette immediately began to explain, "We were tasked with protecting a construction worker by the name of Tazuna. However, upon reaching the village we soon learned that they were deeply impoverished due to the tyrannical rule of a vile mon—man named Gato. We liberated the village from him and his ilk."

"And by liberated, we mean Sakura-chan _liberated_ Gato's head from his body," Hinata said, tossing a warm look over at Sakura. "She was very professional, and clean."

Sakura blushed, reaching up and fiddling with the end of her hair. "Hinata-chan and Naruto-kun were both excellent, as well. They handled the mission like proper shinobi."

"Ah." Minato gave me a _look_.

Hmm. Would I be scolded tonight?

"I have taken the liberty of securing Gato's wealth, donating half to the village in an act of goodwill on Konoha's behalf, and taking the rest as reparation for the upgraded mission," I added, hoping that would appease Minato.

It did.

Sort of.

"I believe the village would be open to Konoha's _good guidance_ ," I suggested.

Ah. Now I was in the clear, judging by Minato's gaze.

He would always be the hokage first, a father second. Wave was in an excellent spot for fish trade, and to open up a port. If they retained their gratitude long enough for our honey pot team to work their magic, Konoha could have another vassal village that could bring in a good chunk of revenue.

Sakura and Hinata were firmly nodding their heads. Sakura added, "They really could use all the help we could send. Hokage-sama, will we send help to them?"

"Of course," Minato said with that winning smile.

 _Yeah. We'll help them, alright,_ I thought. _Help them make the_ smart _choice to serve us._

Minato cleared his throat. "Well, it certainly sounds like you all had an interesting first mission. Finish your written report, and take a few days off."

We saluted like the good little soldiers we were, and left.

As soon as we left the room Naruto brightly asked, "So what's for dinner?"

"Hmm. I'm not sure, what would you like?"

"Oyakodon!" he exclaimed. "Hey, do you guys wanna come over for dinner?"

"I'll come over after I report to Okaa-sama and Outo-sama," Hinata said with a sweet smile. "Sakura-chan, you'll come too, won't you?"

A conflicting look crossed over the pinkette's face, darkening her gaze. "Actually... yeah. I don't want to go home just yet."

"How come?" Naruto asked, tilting his head.

"Kaa-chan and Tou-chan have been acting really weird. It's... kind of awkward now," Sakura explained in a muted voice, her shoulders dropping. "Whenever I try to talk to them they just... kind of leave the room."

 _I suppose they probably think I'm using their daughter to spy on them, and they're afraid if they say the wrong thing I will take her away from them,_ I thought, recalling I had threatened Sakura's mother. _They're pushing her away, though. They're pushing her further away... and straight to me._

With a gentle, motherly smile, I reached over to Sakura and pulled her into my embrace. "It is not uncommon for civilian born kunoichis to drift apart from their families due to differences. Civilians have a hard time coping with our lifestyle, and it must be hard on them to see you grow up into such a _fine_ and _powerful_ young lady."

Sakura hang her head and I went on in a cooing, soothing voice, "But you have us, Sakura-chan. You have _me_. Why don't you stay the night with us? I'm sure Itachi-chan will have lots of leftover baked goodies."

Both Hinata and Naruto shuffled closer to Sakura, each reaching out to touch her to try and comfort her. Naruto said, "Yeah, you can sleep in my room."

Sakura gave her friends a wobbly smile. "Really? Um, if it's okay then... please let me stay over."

"Of course, dear. Stay as long as you want," I told her.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(KISAME)**

"Hey, baby," came the soft purr of a familiar voice. Kisame didn't have to turn around to know who it belonged to.

"Hey, boo," he returned in good nature as Owari, the Black Angel, took a seat beside him. The two sat on a stone wall, overlooking a dark pit of spikes that Kisame's students were struggling to fight on. Since they couldn't stand on the tip point of the spikes, they had to run around vertically.

Naasica—er—Owari adjusted his Akatsuki cloak to allow him to sit more comfortably beside Kisame.

Kisame sometimes had a hard time of mentally referring to Naasica as Owari when she was in disguise. He knew it was good practice to prevent slip-ups in conversation, but it was still awkward to do. Especially when she acted like Naasica _as_ Owari, like teasing him.

He glanced over at his friend. "What brings you here? Thought you were going to lay low until after Sasori and Guren completed their task."

"Zetsu said you found something interesting going on in Water."

Kisame wasn't surprised Naasica rushed straight back to Ame after his message. "Yeah... their daimyo is scrambling to get back some power. He's spending more money than he's got, taxing the living hell out of his citizens which is causing a lot of refugees to flee. We've got our people collecting those that are useful and providing them a good home in Ame."

"So? The country is falling to ruin like planned."

Kisame nodded. "Yeah, but here's the thing... Mei has the official reports, but I think they're rebuilding a village in Water."

"They're rebuilding Kirigakure?"

"Nah. That old shit hole is said to be haunted by ghosts."

Owari snorted. " _Ghosts_?"

Kisame chuckled. "Yeah, I know. If there were such thing as ghosts _we'd_ be in for one hell of a time."

Owari patted Kisame's knee. "There, there. I'll protect you from the _ghoo-oo-oosts."_

Kisame slung an arm around Owari's shoulders. "I know false bravado when I see it. It's okay, boo, you can come to me when you're scared."

Owari shoved the arm off, laughing. "Alright. I'll go grab the reports from Mei."

"Eh... might want me to do that for yeh."

Owari tilted his head.

"She's been a bit _feisty_ since she hasn't seen yah in so long," Kisame drawled out. "She might do something she'll regret later if she saw you unexpectedly."

"I didn't realize you cared. How sweet."

"More like pity at this point," Kisame admitted. "Unless you're going for a harem? Add her to conquests?"

"Maybe I will," Owari said after a moment. "But certainly not while I have to..." he gestured to the mask. "Henge can only go so far."

"But you've got..." Kisame tapped at his eye.

Owari shrugged. "Never used it during."

"What? _Really_?"

"Those I've been intimate with aren't supposed to know about it, so _no_."

Kisame scratched his chin. "That feels like such a waste. I'd offer, but I feel like you're the kind of person I would need a safe word for and I've decided I'm not brave enough to test it out."

Owari's shoulders trembled as he tried not to laugh at Kisame's flippant declaration. He leaned into his partner, and Kisame's grin stretched wider. He always loved being able to make Owari—or Naasica—really laugh.

He didn't think she—er—he had much chance for it at Konoha. Not sincerely, at least.

"Well," Owari said after a moment, "can _you_ tell me anything?"

"Yeah. I'm 99% sure Orochimaru is there."

Owari stilled, his breath caught in his throat and surge of malicious bloodlust leaked from him. "Oh? Kisame, my dear, care to join a game with me?"

"Are we going to _play_ with someone fun?"

"Of course."

Kisame's grin took a nastier turn. "How could I refuse such a fun date?"

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(NAASICA)**

As soon as I found out Orochimaru might have been in Water, I mentally prepared myself to have Mo "call me away" while I dealt with Orochimaru as Owari.

Unfortunately for me, Fate decided to be a little annoying.

Because that very morning that I returned from Amegakure, Minato called Obito, Kakashi, and I into his office for an emergency mission. At four hundred, the three of us shuffled out of my bed (I was a "heater", and both were feeling cold and decided to force their freezing toes, legs, and bodies into my nice and warm bed. The jerks.)

"As you are all aware, Kirigakure was destroyed from a civil war and Water has been left without a village for a while now," Minato began, voice still husky from having just woken up a little before us to receive the emergency message. "The Water daimyo has been trying to fill in this power vacuum by hiring missing-nin to perform the tasks that were once done by Kirigakure's shinobi. In order to meet the demands of the missing-nin he's had to exorbently tax his citizens, which has caused them to flee the country. Now _officially_ , he is allowing them to leave. Unofficially, he has been using his missing-nin to forcibly bring them back... and kidnap citizens of other countries."

_Oh, no... Don't tell me..._

Obito let out a whistle. "Wow. What an idiot."

"To make matters worse, he's kidnapped several dozen Genin from Kusagakure now," Minato sighed. "Our ally has asked us to save their Genin, and we very obviously cannot allow this to continue."

"Of course. The less villages we have to compete against the better," Kakashi agreed.

"And, you know, I always like to help natural selection by getting rid of idiots," Obito said cheerfully.

"Right," Minato said after a moment. "I want the three of you to take care of this."

 _Fuck,_ I eloquently thought, my mind rapidly going through the scenarios.

I had planned on simply going there as Owari with the Akatsuki and taking care of the problem personally. I wanted time to truly make Orochimaru _squeal_ like the disgusting pig he was. I wanted to rip him to shreds, put him back together again in all the wrong pieces, and do it again, and again, _and again_. I wanted to violate him in the most shameful and brutal way imaginable, and I wanted to break his mind before finally allowing death to take him.

While Obito and Kakashi put up with a lot of my sadism and anger, they would _not_ allow me to continuously torture Orochimaru for however long I pleased.

 _Kisame would let me,_ I couldn't help but pout.

Not to mention I wouldn't be able to fight all out with Kakashi and Obito. Orochimaru would absolutely be prepared to go against my mokuton, but if I could use the Rinnegan then the victory would be assured.

_What would Madara-sama do?_

_He would turn it around in his favor,_ whispered Owari.

 _Yes, you're right,_ I told him.

How can this be put in my favor?

What did I want out of this?

Priority one: Orochimaru's humiliating death.

Priority two: Water to _not_ have a village, and more chaos between the other villages.

Priority three: Continue to convince my loved ones and students—

 _Oh,_ Owari and I thought as a delightfully cunning plan popped in our heads.

 _Yes, that would work,_ Owari thought.

 _I might lose my students, though,_ I pointed out.

_Who cares if they go to sleep now? They'll come back like Kushina and Grandmother._

_Yes, you're right. It does not matter in the slightest. As long as Naruto stays alive long enough the rest can take a little nap._

"Given the circumstances," I said quietly, projecting an air of somber thoughtfulness, "I believe that we should bring our Genin."

" _What_?" Minato asked, alarmed by this. Even Obito and Kakashi were giving me wide-eyed looks.

"Hear me out," I said. "I, of course, do not want them to fight with us, but... Let's be honest: we're going to need more hands to successfully transport out the children. We are not going in there with the _sole_ purpose of rescue. We are going in there to eliminate the competition and enemy." A pause. "You all know I have my own network setup, and my reports tell me that... that Orochimaru is staying there."

It spoke volumes of how well disciplined everyone in that room was that no one obviously reacted to that horrible news. All the occupants inside that room went still as a tension so thick you could almost see it settled inside.

"How certain of this are you?" Minato asked, his voice quivering with barely contained anger.

I squared my shoulders. "95%."

"All the more reason we _shouldn't—_ " Obito cut himself off as he paled, realizing what I was getting at. " _Naascia!_ "

"You know I loved them," I snapped back hotly, forcing my eyes to water and my cheeks to flush with fake anger and shame. I played the perfect actress, adding a quiver in my voice. "But you have to think about this logically. If Orochimaru is there, the three of us _can_ handle him. Adding more ANBU, or Jōnin, into the mix will only get in our way, and might overly intimidate Orochimaru to the point where he flees again. If we have our Genin, though, even if they won't be fighting him, just knowing that they are there and nearby might be enough to make him _stay_."

"You are asking to put your own students as _bait_ ," Minato said, his voice heavy.

"And you already thought about it, and you're already considering it," I pointed out, "otherwise you would have already said no."

Kakashi shifted his weight, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "They're good, but they aren't _that_ good. There's a very good chance they could die."

"Then provide them with guards that Orochimaru _can't_ detect," I said. "Because everyone here _knows_ they will make the best bait we could ever offer. Orochimaru is _dangerous_. For the sake of Konoha, we cannot let him continue to roam free. For the sake... for the sake of all those he has already tortured, murdered, and violated, _we cannot let him breathe another second_."

"We could have the Genins be kidnapped, and an ANBU squad follow behind them," Kakashi said quietly. "As soon as we have Orochimaru trapped, we can have the ANBU extract the Genin."

"It still..." Obito trailed off as he thought. "I wish I could say we don't need them as bait, but... Orochimaru has already escaped the three of us before. He's absurdly slippery. Maybe if Sensei came along to mark him—"

"You know I can't," Minato said sadly. "If the three of you are leaving Konoha, I absolutely cannot."

"It's still so risky," I whispered, my shoulders hunching together. Both of my teammates reached out to touch me, to offer me comfort.

"You are a good kunoichi for suggesting it," Minato tried to reassure me. "The reality is, that this current world requires difficult choices. I believe... Emotionally I want to adamantly refuse you, but logically I cannot. Use the Genin as bait, but I'll be assigning both Alpha and Omega to their protection."

 _Oh they're going to have fun with that,_ I thought. _Madara-sama won't be happy I have to sacrifice two of Konoha's ANBU, but..._

Madara wanted the rest of the world to be in absolute chaos when he came back except for Konoha and Ame. Ame would be his troops to beat down the world, and Madara would get to play with Konoha.

He wanted me to keep Konoha strong so he wouldn't be bored.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(MEI)**

Mei _loved_ Amegakure.

She loved the gentle rain, the beautiful buildings that stood tall, the smell and sound only Ame had.

She loved the people.

She loved the citizens. How kind, courteous, and devoted they were. Kirigakure's citizens were always scared, hateful, or cruel. Ame, though? Everyone here was so welcoming, so sweet.

When Owari had first brought her here she wondered if he really was an angel and had brought her to heaven.

Kirigakure must have been hell, then.

She was born in a village that hated her for simply existing. For having abilities she had no say in. Growing up, she was met with constant prejudice, and attempted assaults. She became a kunoichi, not because she wanted to, but because she _had_ to in order to survive.

But she had childishly hoped that things would get better. That in time their Mizukage would snap out of his senses and put a stop to what was happening.

And then he ordered their deaths, and Mei had to watch her family be butchered before her eyes.

She fought valiantly to try and save herself, and others.

She was captured, though.

She would have died if not for Owari.

They all would have died if not for Owari.

He swooped in like a black angel and rescued _so_ many of them. He brought them to Ame where they were safe, loved, and respected. Mei, like all of her fellow kekkei genkai users, were dumbfounded at the treatment they received in Amegakure. They were put back together by people with as many scars as them, and showed kindness they had never known.

Was it any surprise that Mei held Owari in high regards for this?

He could have simply ignored her after saving her. He could have dismissed her, or brushed her aside. He could have used her before discarding her.

But when she confessed her admiration and begged for—for— _for anything_ he pulled her into a comforting hug and offered to train her.

He offered to make her stronger so that way _she_ could protect her loved ones next time.

Mei loved Owari.

Mei loved Amegakure.

Mei loved her life now.

On that day, she sat outside underneath a balcony with her partner, Deidara, and the White Angel, Konan. Deidara and herself had only recently returned from escorting some of Amegakure's merchants to and from Kumogakure.

Konan was a lovely young woman that Mei adored like a sister. When Mei returned, Konan joined her for a quaint breakfast as Mei and Deidara told her what happened on their mission. Konan was always such an excellent listener, and she did so while she worked on her cross stitching—a hobby she was picking up.

But then something out of the ordinary happened. A Zetsu spore popped up in front of Mei and gave her a sealed scroll.

Mei instantly recognized the mark on the scroll to signify it came from her beloved Owari. She wasted no time in ripping open the scroll and reading the message he had given to her.

Mei finished reading the letter barely a minute later. She gave her partner a chilling smile, her eyes bright. "Owari has given us a delightful task."

Konan paused in her cross stitching to glance over. The White Angel of Amegakure rarely took missions, but there were times where she would join a duo if she wanted to stretch her wings.

And it sounded like whatever mission Owari had in mind for Mei and Deidara would be fun.

"Konoha will be using some of their Genin as bait for that disgusting snake," Mei explained with a sultry purr. "But that idiot hokage will be sending along entire squads of ANBU to protect them!"

Konan correctly guessed what Owari wanted. She wanted to smile, but didn't dare until it was confirmed. "Owari knows where two entire squads of Konohagakure's ANBU will be?"

"Yes," Mei chirped. "And he wants _us_ to do a little trimming!"

Konan smiled. "Allow me to join you."

Mei beamed in response. "Of course, Konan-sama! You hate Konoha, don't you?"

"Hate is not befitting of an angel," Konan disagreed. "I am merely helping trim back the disease of this world until our God has delivered us from evil."

"Zealots," Deidara muttered then shrugged. "But it does look like a fun mission. When are we leaving?"

"Tonight."

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Transitional chapter for that next big mission. I will do my bestest with the upcoming fight scenes. :')
> 
> Also, only have one more verse left on the new theme song. Any recommendations for a song that kind of describes Naasica?
> 
>  **Answer:** POKEMON PLEASE LET ME BE A POKEMON TRAINER OH MY GOOOOOOOD that would be the greatest thing ever.
> 
>  **Question:** You are a monarch. What kind of kingdom do you rule, and what is it especially known for?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	32. Us or Them (II)

**It's a deep and silent night, I cannot hear anything,**

' **cause everything is fast asleep.**

**Now the world, so full of sin**

**It repeats itself again,**

**Such a relentless dream!**

**\- Solitude by Luff**

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(MEI)**

Mei adjusted her posture on Deidara's clay bird, leaning forward to peer over the edge as they soared through the gorgeous blue skies. She was sitting beside Konan near the back of the bird while Deidara sat up front to steer it. She and the White Angel had been discussing the best method to take down the Konoha ANBU.

"They're going to be guarding the kyūbi jinchūriki and several other Genin," Konan said, her strong voice carrying over the wind with ease. "We have to separate them from the Genin first. We cannot allow the jinchūriki to sense our presence."

Mei nodded in agreement to that. No harm was to befall the jinchūrikis before the Black Acolytes had finished their research on extraction. They could not risk the child getting caught in the crossfire of their battles.

But how to separate them?

According to Owari the boy was slowly growing into a chakra sensor. At any moment he could instantly become sensitive to foreign chakra and realize what was happening to the ANBU. They _had_ to get the ANBU as far away from the boy as possible without drawing attention to it.

"Why not use Zetsu, yeah?" Deidara suggested.

"Use him for what? We don't have the chakra, or blood, of anyone from Konoha trusted enough to trick the ANBU away for him to use," Mei retorted.

"Ehh... I mean why not just use him to make more of ourselves? Make them think we're too big of a threat to ignore and draw them to us?"

"But they might alert the Genin," Konan pointed out.

Deidara frowned at that. "Mn, yeah... unless only two of us stay at the ambush—ehh—Konan, why don't you stay with the main group and if anyone tries to move to the Genin, you take them out? Mei and I will deal with the rest."

Out of the three of them Konan was better suited to stealth takedowns. She considered this before offering her comrades a steely smile. "Yes. That will do."

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(NAASICA)**

I smiled at my Genin team, pleased at their eagerness for their new mission. All nine of these Genin stood ready, while Kakashi went over the mission details again for them.

"If you can suppress your signature, do so," he said. "Not many of you have particularly strong signatures so it shouldn't be an issue, but the weaker you appear the more likely they'll take you as bait."

"Don't fight them," Obito warned. "Play scared, and stay safe."

"After we have dealt with the main threat of Orochimaru, we will come for you. Your only mission is to stay alive at all costs," I stressed. "No matter what, _stay alive_."

I felt this important to say. The ANBU that was meant to be guarding them would be murdered before they got the chance. I could only hope that they would do as told and play it smart, and safe. If the situation got too dangerous, I knew they were fast and agile Genin. They could run away and evade without issue because of all the intense training focused on such, so they shouldn't be in _too_ much danger.

It'd be a shame if any of them acted prematurely and had to go to sleep for a while. Even though I knew I would see them again, and that their deaths would not be permanent, I did not want them to experience _unnecessary_ pain.

 _But maybe they would get to feel_ necessary _pain?_

That would be wonderful. It would be truly great if they could all see Red at the end of the mission.

If they understood the Red of the world, they may not resist it when I saved it—saved _them_.

The more my loved ones saw Red, the more likely they would join me.

I didn't want to have to fight any of them.

I didn't want Owari to deal with them as he dealt with my dear Kushina.

 _But I would,_ Owari whispered.

 _I know,_ I thought.

"Don't worry," Naruto chirped, "We'll be perfectly fine!"

As hindsight showed, they would not.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(GENIN)**

Obito teleported everyone outside of the safety of the Land of Fire. The Genin huddled together on the merchant road as they waited for Obito to return (he went back to Konoha for some "safety purposes" but did not explain what he meant by that) and give the okay.

It took about ten minutes of patiently waiting before he came back, and then off the Genin went. They were dressed as refugees, their clothes mostly destroyed, their hair a mess, and dirt slathered over parts of them. Their weapons were hidden well enough that even a Jōnin would have trouble spotting them.

They did not sense, or see their teachers disperse, but they knew they would be following closely behind them.

(And two teams of ANBU that they could not see)

Ino and Sakura were particularly convincing, giving out mock sniffles and repeatedly swiping at their eyes. The pride of some of the boys—Sasuke and Kiba, really—prevented them from doing such things, but the rest of the group soon followed suit in trying to act like scared little kids on the run.

Naruto even let out a choked sob—without tears because he didn't know how to call them out on command—and clutched onto Sasuke. Sasuke almost cringed, but managed to play a _decent_ role of a consoling friend.

"What are we going to do?" Sakura whimpered, acting out a couple hiccups and managing to squeeze out a couple tears.

"I wanna go home," Ino whined, trembling as she hugged herself and also squeezed out some tears.

"W-We'll be okay," Hinata said in a shaky voice as she hunched her shoulders and shuffled anxiously in her walk. "R-Right?"

Shikamaru stumbled, falling to the ground. "I—I can't—I can't feel my legs anymore, I'm so scared."

All the other Genins almost stared in amazement at Shikamaru's surprisingly crazy good acting.

Kiba was the first to recover and immediately swooped down to pull Shikamaru back up. "Then we'll carry you! No one gets left behind."

"Th-That's right," Chōji said, moving to hook his arm around Shikamaru and help Kiba carry him.

"No... I'll only be a burden," Shikamaru whispered, hanging his head.

"Never," Naruto declared passionately, a little excited now to play the role of motivator. It was like he was playing the role of a hero! How friggin cool! "Never, ever! We—We're family. We'll never abandon each other. I know things are bad now—worse than they've ever been—but we'll get through this together. I promise!"

His fellow Genin wanted to applaud his movie-like speech. They thought he made a good pretend-hero for their group.

(In the trees the teachers watching them rolled their eyes, along with some of the ANBU.)

"Together forever," Sakura softly added, feeling the need to add a cheesy line to their sob story.

"The power of friendship will keep us alive," Ino agreed, also feeling the need to cheese it up.

This only sparked the rest of the Genin to start acting out stereotypes and sprout the cheesiest lines they could think of. The adults watching on wanted to face-palm at their antics, and their teachers in particular cringed at how embarrassing their students acted.

It would have been nice if it could continue like that indefinitely, but the mission finally took its next step forward.

Two hours into the trip and the Genin were ambushed by shinobi who wore headbands with a musical note over them.

As instructed, they put up no resistance.

The Legendary Demons of Konoha moved ahead of the group. Kakashi could pick up where the enemy shinobies had hailed from and the sooner they removed Orochimaru, the better.

The ANBU moved to follow, but right after the trio left a massive spike of malicious chakra appeared just behind them, moving to them.

For the sake of protecting the Genin, the ANBU sent one team, and a few others from the other team, to eliminate the threat.

A shame none of them would seen again.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(MEI)**

Mei patiently awaited for her guests to arrive. She and Deidara had done a splendid job destroying the nearby surrounding areas to draw the ANBU attention, and she was so very pleased they took the bait.

She wasn't a true chakra sensor, but she had honed the skill well enough to detect signatures—although she could not distinguish them unless it was her beloved Owari. She would know Owari's signature from _anywhere_.

Deidara circled above, keeping to the air and watching. As Mei took the center focus, he would pick off any that tried to escape and provide aerial support.

This allowed Mei to fully unleash her powers on the ground without worry of accidentally killing Deidara.

All Mei had to do was wait until the ANBU were close enough.

She gathered the chakra in the pit of her stomach, smiling a cruel smile as she patiently waited.

The first two crossed over her marked radius, followed by another two, then another, and another—

Nine moved over. ANBU teams traveled in packs of six, which meant that only three were left for Konan to deal with. Such a thing had to dishearten the White Angel, but it could not be helped.

They broke through the thick trees and into the clearing where Mei greeted them. "Good day, gentleman."

"State your business and name!" barked one of them.

Mei held her hand over her heart and bowed. "I am Mei, disciple of the Black Angel. I am here to bring you a gift."

She raised two fingers up to her lips and blew them a kiss.

With that kiss she breathed out her acidic chakra that moved faster than most humans could react. It filled her designated radius up in only a few seconds, and immediately began to melt the skin off the ANBU caught in it.

Of course these were ANBU and such an attack was not going to kill them.

But then bombs started dropping from above, and the ground beneath them turned into lava. There was no place for them to gain any ground, as any doton jutsu spat out to stand on was only turned into more lava.

"That gift," Mei said with a sultry voice, "is death. Be grateful for the mercy of the Black Angel, you Konoha scum."

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(GENIN)**

Whatever the Genin had been expecting to be kept prisoner at... it was not where they stood now.

They were immediately taken to the enemy village and thrown into some underground dungeons that reeked as bad as The Pit. Had the Genin not been trained to handle gore, they would have lost their nerve at seeing the grotesque cells that held them now.

They were not bound, or tied up, but rather guards were posted outside the entrance of the dungeon.

Even that would not be an issue, since they could all either punch through the back wall to the surface, or use doton to make an entrance. The fact that they did not, was because they were ordered to stay there until Obito came for them (unless they were put in a truly life-threatening situation in which case they were ordered to stay alive at all costs).

No, none of that was really bad.

What truly unsettled them were their fellow captives.

Dozens of children watched them from the shadows. Their eyes sunken in, and bodies so thin they looked ready to snap. There were infected wounds covering a fair amount of them, pus and bugs flowing freely out of the holes in their skins. Some were burned, some were beaten, some were so disfigured it was hard to tell they were human.

A few of these children were huddled around a lump of meat, picking off bits and pieces of its rotten flesh and stuffing it in their mouths.

Those with good noses knew they were devouring another human.

They chose not to share that information with the rest of the Genin.

"What happened to you?" Naruto whispered, feeling a cold grip twisting his heart like a wet rag. He was disgusted at them—and ashamed at himself that he felt that way—but more than anything he was heartbroken. They were... they were _children_. Civilian children, judging by their cores.

"The same that will happen to you," one of them laughed, their voice coming out mangled.

Some of them flinched at that.

"They're pretty," another cooed, gesturing to Sakura, Hinata, and Ino. "The guards will want you tonight, then. Good."

Sakura and Ino flushed with anger at that, while Hinata paled as she activated her Byakugan to examine the one who cooed.

She wanted to gag when she found that the girl was most definitely pregnant, staring at the chakra signature that grew inside of her gut.

"Nah... they feel strong," croaked a different voice, one from a child whose eyes dangled out of his head. "They'll get picked."

This caused a stir amongst the other children, and they all shuffled away from the Genin of Konoha.

"Picked?" Shikamaru asked, a tremble in his voice that he no longer had to fake.

"Picked to be their whores maybe," sneered the pregnant girl.

"Picked ones become dogs," rasped another child. "Bad doggies."

"Bad doggies," echoed the rest of the children.

"Don't worry," Naruto said confidently. "None of that's going to happen. We're _all_ getting out of here."

The twisted children scoffed and laughed at that, and one by one they turned their backs.

Naruto couldn't blame them for that, but he would prove it to them. He said softly, a steel in his voice, "I promise. We're _all_ getting out of here."

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(NAASICA)**

Otokagure was built on the bones of Kirigakure. Like with the prior village there was a permanent mist settled over the village that it made it harder to survey the entire village.

Where Kirigakure's buildings were mostly made of carefully crafted stone—all lovingly cut and stacked together in an almost beautiful manner—Otogakure bastardized this. Their stone buildings were thrown together to more closely resemble huts, and it wasn't hard to tell that most of them lead to underground. I'd be willing to bet a good sum of money Orochimaru crafted an intense maze underneath the village.

I had already sent Zetsu spores well ahead of our group, though, and each were interconnected throughout the village. What one saw, the other could see, and in turn _I_ could see.

I knew inside this maze were numerous dungeons, and inside each dungeon was a group of children who had been abducted.

What happened to the adults, one might ask?

If the adults were strong enough, they became Otogakure shinobi. If they weren't... they were used as experimental fodder.

Children could be brainwashed more easily, so they were kept in separate groups. From what the Zetsu spores could gather Orochimaru was testing which way was the most efficient to convert those children to his side.

Were they more compliant with favors? With torture? What if he experimented on them? Which of his minions, his new Otogakure shinobi, could also manipulate children to his side?

There were dozens of dungeons like these, and each one was a test for him.

The one where our Genin were dragged off to was a dungeon given to one of Orochimaru's favored guards to use. He kept the children with little chakra reserves and control in that dungeon. They weren't strong enough to use in his experiments, but not weak enough to immediately die if left unattended.

Therefore... well. One might get the picture.

Obito, Kakashi, and I entered the village without drawing attention to ourselves. We hid in the shadows of the huts and surveyed those around us.

Orochimaru had done a decent enough job collecting his shinobi. Naturally none of them were enough to give the three of us much pause, but they weren't _bad_.

Unfortunately there was still a lot more of them meandering around the village than what we were expecting.

Our goals were as followed: Eliminate Orochimaru, Wipe out Otogakure, Save our allies' abducted children.

Orochimaru would die today, this I knew without a doubt. He would not escape, not now and not ever again. I had Zetsu spores covering every exit of the village, and as soon as my Akatsuki comrades were done with the ANBU they would begin to circle the village. If Orochimaru managed to squeak out of my hands, he would _not_ get by those three.

But I had no intention of allowing Orochimaru to _not_ die by my hands.

I even called in a dance partner just for this occasion.

"Did you find him?" Obito quietly asked in my ear, his Sharingan eyes assessing the outside.

With a tight nod, I said, "I found his chakra. But—" I narrowed my eyes as I peered out of the shadows we currently hid in to cautiously eye the village. "They've got several dozen Jōnin-level threats. As amazing as we are, I don't think we can juggle all of their shinobi force _and_ Orochimaru at once. So I will deal with Orochimaru and you two will clean up."

"But—"

"Out of the three of us, hime stands a better chance at stalling Orochimaru out," Kakashi pointed out reluctantly. "All of your attacks, Obito, rely on surprise and ambush, and I don't have the raw power to face Orochimaru on my own for very long."

"Tch." Obito folded his arms over his chest, scowling at that. "I don't like it, though."

I reached up and kissed his cheek. "You're sweet."

"Hey," Kakashi objected.

I kissed his cheek, too. "You're sweeter."

"Thank you," Kakashi said with a nod.

Obito rolled his eyes. "As much as I would love to argue over who is _actually_ sweeter, I still don't think this is a good idea."

"That's fine. We're rolling with it anyway," I said dismissively.

Obito's face twisted up with a grimace and Kakashi placed an arm over his shoulders. "Come on. The sooner we get rid of the trash, the sooner we can help her disembowel Orochimaru."

Obito rested his head on Kakashi's shoulder for a moment, sighing. "Yeah... you're right."

"Then I'll talk to you both later," I said before I decided to be a little mean. "And... I love you both."

"Oi! We agreed to never, _ever_ say that on a mission because that just begs for one of us to die!" Obito snapped out.

"I love you both," I repeated with a devilish grin.

"I'm leaving before you say _what could possibly go wrong_ next," Obito muttered, rushing out of the hut.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(GENIN)**

Explosions rocked the world outside of them, and they heard the screams of people dying. With a thunderous boom the dungeon quaked and the broken children huddled together and prayed for a painless death.

"This is getting dangerous," Sakura said, drawing the Genin's attention to her. "We need to leave."

"Leave?" echoed Kiba, aghast.

"Shit's hitting the fan," Sakura pointed out, gesturing to how the entrance was now currently on fire. "We're sitting ducks here, and we need to leave. Besides, they might decide to eliminate any loose threads before they get the hell outta here."

The Genin cringed when one of the explosions went off nearby and made their ears ring.

"We can't leave these people here, though," Naruto hissed out. "We have to get _everyone_ out."

"We don't have time," Sakura snarled back. "Any minute now the enemies could arrive. We can't protect this many people."

"I can create as many shadow clones as it takes to carry them out—"

Sakura grabbed Naruto's shirt, yanking him close to her as she growled out, "You're. Not. Listening. We do _not_ have the training, or power, to protect such a large group moving out in territory _we do not know_. _We_ need to leave, get to Sensei, and _she_ will get these people out."

Naruto shoved Sakura off him, shouting, "We can't leave them—!"

"We're going— _now_ ," Sakura bit out, grabbing Naruto's arm and starting to drag him, but he shoved her off once more. "Naruto! Stop being stupid."

"Leave me, then," he snapped. "I'm not leaving them behind."

Sakura let out a strangled cry of frustration. "Idiot! You're going to get us killed."

"Then _flee_."

"I think we should stay," Chōji tentatively added, looking around at his comrades. "We—We can't just leave them behind."

Kiba nodded. "Yeah. It doesn't sit with me. Let's bust 'em outta here, yeah?"

"I'm with Sakura," Shikamaru disagreed. "We don't know—we don't know nearly enough about the situation to be safe."

"We can't leave these poor people behind," Ino argued. "I vote we stay."

"Shikamaru, and Sakura vote to leave... Naruto, Chōji, Kiba, and Ino vote to stay," Shino concluded thus far. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged. "We don't know the situation. But I know my brothers would still stay."

"Hinata?"

"We should leave," she said softly.

Shino adjusted his glasses. "The vote swings to staying."

"If we get killed from this, I'm going to kick your asses in hell," Sakura snapped.

"Good thing we won't then, huh?" Naruto snarked back.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(NAASICA)**

He was waiting for me. Like a villain dying to monologue the perverted scientist eagerly lingered behind in his chosen spot for me to come to him. There was no way he didn't sense my chakra the moment I entered the village, but like the greedy monster he was he couldn't refuse the opportunity.

He thought he was prepared.

He thought he was going to win.

_Delusional._

Orochimaru stood outside of what was once the Mizukage's tower with a slimy smile as Obito and Kakashi completely tore up his once _precious_ village.

He thought once he was done with me, he'd get to collect his treasured Sharingan and keep Kakashi as a pet.

The very thought of it made my blood boil, and the desire to skin him alive was downright overwhelming.

Orochimaru greeted me with a mocking bow, "Oh, hime. So good of you to come. Did you miss me that much?"

"When we're done I'll be able to look at you every day, your skin will make a fine rug for T&I," I returned with a cold smile.

He laughed, a high-pitched sound that made nails on chalk look like a symphony.

"Twice you have escaped being mine, but I will not let a third one go by," he said quietly, ugly yellow eyes leering at me.

_Twice?_

Then along came a surprise for him. An irritation, or a pleasant one he had no way of yet knowing. Landing beside me—and creating a small crater in the ground—was a tall man in a black cloak with red clouds over them. His blue skin looked pale in the eerie light of Otogakure.

Kisame grinned toothily. "Well, well, well, what have we here?"

"My," I purred, "what a devilishly handsome creature you are."

Kisame mocked blush, putting a hand to his cheeks. "Oh, jeeze."

"I don't suppose a fine man like yourself could help a lady out?"

Orhicmaru started to laugh. "Desperate already, hime?"

"It's a date," Kisame teased, "Hope you make a good dance partner."

"I've been told I'm quite good."

Kisame hoisted Samehada free. "Then what are we waiting for?"

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(GENIN)**

They were losing.

They were _losing_.

They didn't understand why so many of the Otogakure shinobi flocked to this dungeon, nor what was taking their teachers so long to get to them.

They would have been fine if the guards were human, but soon after the village came under attack many of them had transformed into half-crazed monsters with dark skin, deformities, and bulging eyes. They attacked any and everything in their path—even each other—and as soon as they figured out that there were threats inside that dungeon they threw themselves in there like a rabid dog thirsting for meat.

They were relentless, a horde of nonstop creatures hell-bent on devouring them alive. The Genin were forced to take defensive measures. Frontliners Kiba, Chōji, Naruto, and Sasuke took the brunt of the attacks while Sakura and Ino picked them off at a distance. Those that managed to slip by the frontliners were stalled by Hinata, Shikamaru, and Shino.

The kidnapped children huddled together behind Sakura and Ino, whimpering and clutching on to each other. Their cries fueled the Genin, driving home just how important it was that _none_ of them were caught by these monsters.

Naruto threw down trap seals he had specially designed—small ones that could be used in tight quarters such as these—that did a decent enough job blowing off the limbs of the monsters. Unfortunately these things were tenacious beasts and had some ridiculous regenerative rates.

Sakura launched arrow after arrow, each digging their way through the skulls of the beings. It still took several arrows in the head before one of them would topple over.

While Ino couldn't launch as many attacks as fast as Sakura, her raiton ninjutsu attacks were devastating enough to completely halt some of them. Unfortunately for her and her teammates, she didn't have the reserves to stretch this fight indefinitely and nearly an hour into the fight she was struggling to stand, let alone attack.

Shino and Shikamaru were in similar spots, with neither having the stamina or reserves to stretch this fight out much longer.

It became painfully apparent how tired everyone was growing when one stumble— _one_ wrong move—had Chōji slipping backward.

It almost happened in slow motion. One moment Chōji was fighting off two monsters at once, and the next he lost his balance and fell on his back.

They pounced on him in that instant and his wail tore new fear into his teammates. Blood and guts were ripped out of him as Kiba _screamed_ with rage and threw himself onto the enemies to fight them off.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

It was a domino effect because Kiba was no longer fighting smart, he was fighting angry and scared and so he too made a mistake.

A mistake that cost him a leg and gave him a mauling of his own.

Chaos.

It was absolute chaos then. Their formation fell apart as Sasuke and Naruto struggled in vain to hold the front line now that their two front liners were de—out of commission. Ino and Shikamaru were scrambling to pull their injured comrades away, but it left them vulnerable and their friends simply didn't have the experience or energy to defend them.

One monster grabbed Ino by her face and yanked her so hard they could hear her bones snapping. She couldn't even scream, or cry for help because it all happened too fast.

It overwhelmed those left standing, and then it was _Naruto_ who had dropped his guard as he stared in terrified rage at what was happening to his friends.

"Naruto—no—!" Hinata cried out, throwing herself in the way of a bulking monster. She tried desperately to conjure the Hyūga's ultimate defense, but she lacked the chakra to do so.

The clawed attack came straight down, shredding into Hinata's face, neck, and chest.

Everything stopped for that single moment for her teammates as they watched, horrified, as blood spewed out of their friend. Hinata's right eye had been ripped out in the attack, her face horribly mangled, and her chest and neck gushing Red.

" _Hinata!_ " Sakura screamed, tears of rage and hatred burning her vision as she scrambled to reach her dying friend.

Naruto stumbled back for a moment before anger so dark, and so fierce, overtook him. Never before in his entire life had he felt so hot, and so full of pain and hatred. He didn't realize he was crying, silent tears falling from his eyes, but he did realize that he was filled with murderous rage.

With a primal roar, he leapt at the attacker, yanking out explosive tag after explosive tag and throwing it at the monster.

Sakura scrambled to pull her emergency aid out. "H-Hi—Hinata st-stay w-with us."

Hinata couldn't speak though, because she could barely breathe through her nearly destroyed throat.

Sakura trembled from the overwhelming feelings inside of her.

And then along came a small miracle.

Obito Uchiha, the Ghost of Konoha, appeared before them with his trademark grin. "Wow. Hime's not gonna be happy about this!"

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(NAASICA)**

Donating about a quarter of my chakra into my opening move, I clapped my hands together and muttered out, "Mouton: Shinkō no mori!"

Black, warped, and twisted trees with burning orange leaves erupted from all around us, rapidly encircling the clearing Orochimaru chose for his death. The forest devoured the village, climbing high up in the sky while simultaneously digging deep into the dark maze Orochimaru had created.

The Zetsu spores that were eagerly awaiting for this attack latched on to the roots and sucked out some of my chakra—enough so each of them transformed into Zetsu clones and began to ransack the maze for research notes, and anything of value.

"Suiton: tsunami!" Kisame bellowed out a massive surge of water to plow directly at Orochimaru. Orochimaru slammed his hands on the ground beneath him, creating a solid pillar of rock that carried him up above Kisame's attack.

With my forest now trapping him, and Kisame narrowing the playing field even more, it was time to properly engage.

Kisame tossed me Madara's gunbai that he had hooked to his back, and I leapt up onto the stage Orochimaru set.

With a devilish grin, I summoned forth the Rinnegan. Not that Orochimaru would be able to see it, since I kept the genjutsu seal Madara created for the eye active for the moment.

I raised my gunbai just as Orochimaru blasted forth one hell of a katon jutsu. I used the Rinnegan to absorb the chakra, replenishing some of my own, but hid this fact by using the gunbai.

He followed up with a spew of raiton, and again I held up my gunbai and absorbed the attack with my hidden Rinnegan.

It wouldn't be hard to trick Orochimaru into thinking it was the gunbai absorbing the attacks.

"Fūton: uzu!" I breathed out the fūton ninjutsu, creating a small but powerful vortex of wind at the center of the pillar. I followed it up with, "Katon: fenikkusu kokyū!"

My fire ignited on the wind chakra and it erupted into a beautiful tornado of fire and destruction. It overtook the entire pillar and Orochimaru was forced off it, and back down to the sea of water below where a grinning Kisame awaited him.

The next phase of the battle went on too quick to accurately describe. It was a flurry of powerful ninjutsu attacks by Orochimaru, and Kisame diving in to swipe at him with Samehada while working in tangum with my own ninjutsu attacks. With each swipe of Kisame's Samehada, Orochimaru lost some of his treasured chakra and I would apply a special genjutsu I invented just for this fight.

We knew Orochimaru had done plenty to make himself immortal, but there was one thing he could never, ever replace in a fight.

And that was his chakra.

I absorbed his attacks through the Rinnegan (faking it as the gunbai), and Kisame did the same with his Samehada. We replenished our chakra while Orochimaru could not.

It was a hard pressed fight, and no one had ever pushed me so far in a long, long time. I was grateful I had the foresight to ask Kisame for his help, because I didn't think I would have been able to secure the victory alone without resorting to drastic measures.

The bastard summoned forth hordes of snakes that I had to burn and slice through since Kisame couldn't drown them out. He kept stretching and changing bodies, slipping away from what would have been fatal blows. He was hard to catch, but not impossible.

Because he chose to stick around. He was greedy for my mouton, and greedy for my gunbai.

So greedy, in fact, he sacrificed losing a chunk of his flesh to rip the gunbai out of my hands and laugh victoriously.

While it infuriated me that this scum was daring to touch something of Madara-sama's, it pleased me that he had taken the bait.

He bellowed out a slew of raiton attacks at me, expecting me to be forced to dodge or defend—

But I released the genjutsu over my eye, held up my hand, and devoured his slimy chakra.

 _Oh,_ the look on his face when he saw my Rinnegan.

Disbelief.

Incredulous.

Delight.

_Desire._

He thought he still had over half his chakra left.

He thought he could take the eye from me as he took the gunbai.

He launched himself at me, moving with speed that would put most shinobi to shame, but then he stumbled—

Orochimaru faltered, tripped, and fell forward as his body trembled.

"What—?" he whispered.

"Out of chakra?" I mocked.

"No—I—" Orochimaru seized before he hissed out. " _How_?"

"How are you already out of chakra?" I laughed, my tone mocking as I set back the Rinnegan into the Sharingan. I watched as Orochimaru's disgusting face twisted into envy, disbelief, and rage. "I may not be good at genjutsu, but I know _enough_. I know how to make you think you have more chakra than you truly do. _But how?_ You're wondering that, aren't you? Samehada disrupts your chakra every time it eats it. It's really simple—I reapplied it for every swing."

"That's impossible—you'd have to be—you'd—"

"Have to be in perfect synch?" Kisame finished with a grin, propping an arm atop my head and leaning on it. "What do you know... _we are_."

He squirmed, struggling to stand. The battle hadn't gone on for more than an hour, but the monster was all out of chakra. He didn't even have enough to really get away, but still—

"You claimed to have had me in your sights twice," I said slowly, a cruel smile curling my lips up. "Unfortunately for you, _once_ is all I need."

Coaxing forward Madara's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, I lit Orochimaru aflame with amaterasu.

And I watched him writhe and burn, _slowly and in agony_.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(GENIN)**

Obito teleported all of the students back to the Konoha hospital.

Team seven's Hinata was rushed into surgery immediately, with Chōji, Ino, and Kiba following behind.

Their teammates were restless, waiting for any kind of news. Sakura eventually broke after the first hour, crying and angrily hitting Naruto. "Why didn't you listen?! Why would you—why would you pick strangers over Hinata?! _Over us?!_ "

Each accusation dug into Naruto, and wounded him more than her fists ever could. Eventually the blond crumpled, falling to his knees and sobbing. "I'm s-sorry. I'm s-s-so sorry—"

Sakura glared down at him, her cheeks wet. She tried to wipe away her tears, but they kept coming, and she fell down in front of him, her head bowed.

 _I'm so pathetic,_ she despaired, reaching forward and pulling her teammate close to her. _If I were stronger, none of this would have happened. I can't—I can't blame it all on Naruto._

Naruto cried in her arms, his eyes red and puffy, and his head aching just as painfully as his heart.

Sasuke sat down beside the two teammates, reaching forward and rubbing his brother's back. He wanted to cry, too. He wanted to scream at the unfairness of the situation. At how they shouldn't have been punished for trying to do the right thing.

But the youngest Uchiha was too tired, too emotionally drained to do so.

The rest of their comrades inched closer. Shikamaru quietly crying, Akamaru whimpering his arms, and Shino sat close to them.

The child soldiers mourned the last of their innocence, and prayed to whatever deity was listening, that they didn't have to mourn their friends, too.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(NAASICA)**

With Orochimaru _definitely_ dead, I relaxed the Sharingan and re-activated the seal genjutsu over my eye. I brushed off any dirt and grime I accumulated over the battle, and re-did my hair while Kisame took back the gunbai and re-attached it and Samehada to his back. After a few minutes of grooming, I was presentable again.

"Well," Kisame said after a minute. "It was a good date."

"Enough for a repeat?"

"Ehhh."

I swatted at him. "How dare you. I'm amazing."

"Sorry, I only do second dates with people who put out on the first one," he deadpanned.

"Does flashing count?"

"PFFFFFT," Kisame clutched at his mouth to keep from howling with laughter. While I watched my friend struggle to refrain from busting a gut at my absurd comment, Obito appeared beside us with a sweet smile aimed at me, which immediately disappeared when he saw Kisame.

"Hello," I said to Obito, giving him a warm smile. "All done here?"

"Yeah..." He eyed the chuckling Kisame suspiciously. "Who's this?"

"A handsome gentleman who helped me kill Orochimaru," I explained, gesturing to Kisame. "Thank you, gallant stranger."

"How could anyone _not_ help an impossibly gorgeous lady such as yourself?" Kisame joked.

Obito abruptly put his arm around my waist and pulled me close. "Welp. Thanks for helping my fiancee. What was your name again?"

"Kisame. Congrats on the marriage. I'll—pfft—be on my way now," Kisame said, giving a slight bow to the two of us before heading off.

I asked Obito when he left, "Are we engaged now?"

"Yep," he said.

"Is Kakashi the second bride, or groom?"

"Obviously second bride since he's prissy enough."

"Fair point." I kissed my Obito on the cheek again. "Everything went okay on your end?"

"Yeah... Kakashi and I didn't have any issues, but," Obito hesitated, chewing on his lip for a moment in a rare display of anxiety. I leaned into him, pulling him closer to provide him with comfort. "Hime, the ANBU didn't make it to Otogakure. The Genin got attacked, and... it's not looking good."

My stomach dropped, a brief moment of guilt inside of me before Owari snatched it away. There was a chill over my heart, and it made everything so much easier to think about.

I knew this would be a possible outcome.

A part of me that Owari couldn't hide away felt ashamed that our Genin weren't strong enough to survive on their own for an hour. They really, truly, would not have made it through the war we had to endure at their age. This unfair world would have them do so anyway.

This world would break each of them the way it broke me.

I had hoped, truly and sincerely, that I had done _enough_ for them to survive this much.

I was wrong.

I wished they were strong enough. I wished—

_God, I wish this world wasn't so fucking Red._

All I wanted was to cover their eyes so they couldn't see it, so no children had to taste the vileness of this world, had to experience how cruel humans could be.

Why did they have to choose this path?

As shinobi, as kunoichi, they would be forced to see the Red, or die from it.

_I thought I prepared them well enough—_

No, no, no... I did not.

I could not.

They would never, ever, be ready until they saw the Red and understood. Once they did then they could truly survive in this world, and then they could join me in saving it.

There was nothing I could do until they saw It.

 _Besides, the pros are still outweighing the cons,_ Owari pointed out, always cool and rational.

Or at least more rational than me.

We eliminated two squads of ANBU which were difficult to pin down. It was imperative that we kept the ANBU stretched and busy so they couldn't provide the resources to look into the Akatsuki before the plans were ready.

And most importantly, we killed Orochimaru.

So long as Naruto still survived the attack, I would be able to call this mission a success.

"There's more," Obito whispered, his voice soft and tight with grief. I kissed the top of his head in a consoling manner. "We found... we found some of the victims. Kakashi's gathered up all that are still alive."

"Let's go see them then, shall we?"

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

I looked over these victims, my heart aching as I understood the hell they must have been through.

Before, I could not have saved them.

But now?

I clenched my hands into fists.

Konoha could not do anything for them. Officially, Konoha did not take in refugees, and did not waste money rehabilitating victims that would not bring them profit. Especially those that could prove traitorous, or could secretly be trojan horses. Even if I, as a Senju, could personally pay for them the council would oppose it.

My status could only go so far, and bringing in unknown, weak, and nearly dead humans that would bring Konoha nothing in return... it would only hurt my political power.

I knew this. Kakashi knew this. Obito knew this.

"Go," I softly told them. "I will handle them."

Obito placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, while Kakashi bowed his head in respect.

They thought I would kill them.

Naasica Senju would.

Owari would not.

When they left, I put them to sleep in a genjutsu, and I summoned my left over Zetsu spores.

"Take them to Mei and the others. Bring them to Amegakure and have the Black Acolytes tend to them," I ordered.

I quietly watched the Zetsu clones do as told, each delicately picking up a child and carrying them off. I took a deep breath, looking up at the sky and wondering who else was in pain.

Who else suffered as these children have?

Who else have I failed to save?

 _Soon,_ I consoled myself. _Soon they won't any more._

And then along came a little birdie who carried a message for Owari from Guren.

Its details were enough to make me smile, putting aside my pain for the children.

_O,_

_The puppet is in place._

_G &S_

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Hinata lost her right eye and ear. There would be scarring on her face, neck, and chest, for many years to come. She would be hospitalized for another month, as they tentatively watched her skin regrow over her tender neck.

Ino's vocal chords were beyond repair, and she would retain permanent scarring on her neck, and stomach.

Kiba upper face was scarred, and he lost his left leg below the knee.

And Chōji lost his life.

_Can they see the Red now?_

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to kill more of them off but they haven't been in the story long enough to do a good emotional impact. Maybe next time. :)
> 
> New song starting next chapter will be _Control_ by Hasley as suggested by Anon on tumblr. Thanks, Anon!
> 
>  **Answer:** A king of fantastical magic well known for their prowess in magic.
> 
>  **Question:** Who would you want to be partners with in the Akatsuki?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


	33. Bittersweet

**I buried the unseemly urges**

**Deep down in the ground with the roots**

**But it's all coming up to the surface**

**Maybe it's getting ready to bloom?**

**And I don't wanna be a monster in the making**

**I don't wanna be more bitter than sweet**

**I don't know how to be just standing by blankly**

**Not getting angry...**

_**Angry Too by Lola Blanc** _

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

"We completed our objectives. Kakashi found the missing children and returned them to our ally, and we killed Orochimaru," Minato blandly said, a hollowed look in his gaze. He sat at his hokage desk, while the three of us—Obito, Kakahsi, and myself—stood at attention before him. We had returned late that night, so the office was cast in looming ominous shadows. Only the light of the moon behind Minato, and a single lamp at his desk illuminated his office. "The price of Orochimaru's death only costing us one Genin is... logistically more than acceptable."

"And the families?" I asked softly, tiredly. Elated as I was by Orochiarmu's death, the news that we had lost one of our Genin drained me.

Still...

It was important to turn everything into an advantage.

Chōji's death would not be in vain.

"Demanding an investigation into the ANBU that failed to guard them," Minato answered, rubbing his forehead. "Damn it... how? Hardly anyone knew about the ANBU in the first place."

"It's obvious, isn't it?" I retorted, adding anger into my voice to fuel my deception. "Who else would gain from this loss? Who else _could_ be the cause of this loss?"

Minato stilled, his eyes narrowing as he looked back up at me. "You think ROOT is involved?"

"I think that Danzō had decades to set up his private military, and we've only been working on actively dismantling it for _a_ decade," I said quietly. "There could be more sleeper agents in the ANBU."

"Fuck," Obito summed up nicely, an exhausted hitch in his tone.

"We can't use Yamanaka to investigate _all_ of them, that would take them—"

"Inoichi's daughter was just viciously maimed and permanently lost her voice due to this," I cut in sharply. "I think he'll be more open to investigating the ANBU now than in the past."

There was a somber, thick silence at that and Minato sighed. "You are likely correct. Kakashi, when we're done here discuss this with Inoichi."

"Yes, sir."

I kept my face tired, and resigned, even as I inwardly grinned viciously.

 _With the ANBU now being widely investigated they will be preoccupied and limited on resources for a while,_ I thought to myself, pleased with this. _This should give Sasori more operating room for the puppet show._

"Obito... do you have the Genin report on what exactly happened?" Minato tiredly asked.

Obito winced. "Yeah..."

I listened to Obito's report to Minato about what the Genin had told them. As the report grew on, the wariness and fatigue that had previously settled over me was steadily being replaced with incredulous anger. I listened until the end, wondering if I was perhaps mishearing it because I simply could not believe their sheer _stupidity_.

"They... _chose_ to stay?" I repeated back slowly, disbelievingly.

"They—they chose to stay," Obito confirmed after a moment.

Minato buried his face in his hands once again, letting out a tight sigh. "Hime, go... deal with them."

I did not need to be told twice.

"They're in the debriefing room," Obito told me as I left.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

The debriefing room was a tiny little room adjacent to the hokage's office. And inside of it were a bunch of _stupid_ Genin hanging their heads in shame over their failures.

The instant I saw them, I reacted.

"You _MORONS!_ "

Anger was an understatement to what I felt at that moment. Anger was nowhere near as overwhelming, as enveloping, as explosive to the hot rage that made me glare with icy disdain at our living Genin.

Anger did not do what I felt justice.

"Fools. Idiots. Arrogant _heroes_ ," I spat out, watching the way they quivered and silently cried under my onslaught. "Survive! Survive was your _only_ command. We told you over, and over, _and over again to fucking survive._ What did you do, though? You chose to _kill_ your teammates over some _trash_."

"We—We didn't—" Shikamaru tried to say, tried to defend, tried to _deny_ their blame.

"You think that because you didn't _vote_ for this insane choice that somehow makes you blameless?" I snarled viciously, lashing out and giving them a taste of my barely constrained malice. They all physically flinched backward, the last bit of color they had on their faces draining away. "You think you get to feel better about your _inaction?_ You arrogant worms! When your teammates choose wrong, you make them choose right!"

My hands clenched tightly into fists and I bit down hard on my inner cheek and abruptly straightened my back.

I could deal with accepting their deaths if _I_ had not prepared them well enough. I could take that blame, and keep it for myself if they were simply not strong enough. If they were simply not _skilled_ enough to run away.

But **no.**

**They had fucking chosen to stay.**

They made the choice. They had the power, they had the skill, and out of childish idealism they chose stupidity.

They chose to be heroes, and now they get to pay the price for it.

I wanted to explode on them. I wanted to give them so much fear, and so much anxiety when looking back on this they would never even consider doing such a stupid thing again.

But exploding would only get me so far.

No, no. If I wanted to instill true fear—

I cooled myself. My expression closed off, and I looked down on them as if they were maggots beneath my heel. My eyes hardened, and I changed my tone to become colder than ice, sharper than a dagger.

" _You_ are to blame," I hissed out slowly, drawing it out and penetrating each of them with a chilling look of disdain. " _You_ are all to blame for what has become of them. _You_ did not fight against the choice, or worse, _you_ went along with it. _You_ are to blame for what they lost. _And I will never let you forget that._

"Do not even think—do not even _consider_ —the wish of retiring. Chōji _died_ for your mistakes and you will carry out your duties as a shinobi with perfection for his honor. You will ensure this never happens again. You will learn from this. You will accept this guilt, this _blood_ on your hands, and _you will never forget what you did._ You idiots are responsible for this mess, you idiots will keep this mess in your hearts. And if you _idiots_ endanger another comrade like this ever again _I will kill you myself_."

I punctured the last sentence with a burst of killing intent, and the tears came faster, and harder from them.

"You don't get to play children anymore," I told them icily. "You don't get to play innocent, and forgive yourselves _any_ time soon. Your inaction, your failure, will define you now. Clean yourselves up, and apologize properly to each of their families. _Now_."

They scrambled, their legs weak and shaky from my scalding lecture, and as they neared the door to leave I drawled out, with a humorless smirk and a cold, dead, gleam in my eyes, "And congratulations, maggots. Welcome to the reality of this world."

They left.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**One month later...**

**(Team Kisame)**

Reo, Seiko, and Itsuki followed closely behind their leader. They had been traveling for a few days and were getting ready to enter into Konoha's territory.

The thought of doing so made the three Genin a little nervous, but Kisame assured them that Konoha would not harm them. He promised them that he and Owari would protect them.

This instantly eased their worries. The Black Angel never failed, and Kisame was one of the elite Akatsuki guards. There were few who could even stand on the same level as him, let alone defeat them.

So they swallowed their nerves and marched on... at least until they reached the nasty little forest Naasica made.

Seiko was the first one to see, and so she was the first one to gasp.

Twisted, mutated trees with dark bark stood tall, leering down at them. Their leaves, a burning orange, looked almost on fire with the sunlight filtering through them. While that in of itself was eerie enough, what really made Seiko gasp was the fact that human body parts—primarily heads—were seen embedded in the trees.

In _every_ tree.

"What the fuck?" Reo whispered out loud.

"Welcome to Hell's Forest," Kisame chuckled, not even looking back at his Genin. "Created by the demoness herself, Naasica Senju... when she was twelve."

Chills ran down their spine.

Seiko clutched at her mouth, her brow furrowing with plain disgust.

 _What a monster,_ thought Reo.

It wasn't that the trio of Amegakure Genin were unaccustomed to gore, or death. Amegakure was a collection of war victims and survivors and many of them were irreparably maimed or disfigured. Those that were saved by Owari were still plagued by their horrific memories and would recite what happened to them if caught at a bad moment.

They knew how cruel this world was, and how much of a sanctuary Amegakure had become under the Akatsuki's wings.

The reminder, this latest presentation of deliberate cruelty and desecration of the dead, was still painful.

Their hearts went out to those who fought and lost against such evil.

"Aww, getting scared, kiddies?" Kisame asked, all sharp teeth and smiles. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the big bad princess."

"I'm not scared!" Reo immediately boasted, puffing up his chest. To prove his point he was the first of the Genin to leap up onto one of the trees. "The Akatsuki's no match for Konoha, and Owari will keep us safe!"

"Very true," Kisame said, nodding as he struggled not to laugh. "Owari won't let that nasty princess hurt ya."

"Is Owari-sama going to watch our matches in the final round?" Seiko hopefully asked, a blush dusting over her cheeks at the mention of her idol.

"He'll be there," Kisame promised them. "You may not see him, but he'll be watching. He's eager to see your development."

The three Amegakure Genin exchanged excited looks.

"Ah, while we're on the topic of the exams... Senju's team will be entering, too," Kisame mentioned. "They've got a blondie, a pinkette, and a Hyūga, so make sure you kick their asses _extra_ hard."

His little meatsack minions saluted and Kisame's grin stretched even wider.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Nothing much of note occurred on the rest of their trip to Konoha. They rushed to get out of that horrible forest, and after six more hours of traveling they finally arrived at their destination.

Konoha was bustling and bright, a sharp contrast to the eerie genocide marker that stood outside of it. They could hear the chatter of civilians inside, and smell the street food. It certainly large—almost as big as Amegakure, actually—but flatter and more open.

Plus it was dry and hot as hell in comparison to what they were used to. Poor Itsuki had to strip off his hoodie and tie it around his waist because he was getting too hot. The civilian born had a line of sweat over his forehead, and Reo was tempted to ask Seiko to make some cool wind for them.

The entrance gate they had arrived at was bigger than what they had expected. A little impractical with how big it was, actually.

 _What manner of visitor are they expecting to need a door_ that _big?_ Seiko thought disapprovingly. They had gone through the trouble of building a wall all around the village only to make such a huge weak spot with an absurdly big door.

 _I guess not every village can have the weather protection of a god,_ Reo observed with a shrug.

Amegakure didn't need walls because the rain watched them all.

Before they stepped inside the village, however—

Kisame placed a hand on Reo's shoulder. He bent down to quietly whisper in his ear, "You remember what you promised me, kiddo?"

Reo blinked once, recalling their previous conversation.

As an Uzumaki, Reo had inevitably turned into a chakra sensor, and a damn good one at that. He could pick out any of the Akatsuki member's chakra through any seals, and from quite a distance.

Before they were allowed to leave, allowed to participate in the Konoha Chūnin Exams, Kisame pulled Reo aside and made him take a vow. If Reo sensed any Akatsuki members, no matter from where, he was not to react, or tell _anyone_... or Kisame would be forced to kill him.

Reo obviously agreed. If Akatsuki members were in Konoha—for why else would Kisame bring it up?—then that must mean they were undercover.

"Good. I vouched for ya kiddo so that way we could have this little contest," Kisame said, pulling back up. "Behave."

Reo nodded firmly, confident. He would never betray his village, least of all Kisame!

Kisame headed through the impractically wide gates to the entrance desk, handing over the appropriate paperwork and answering questions about their visit.

All Chūnin Exam teams were to be escorted to their designated hotels by a Konoha Jōnin. Their chosen Jōnin would be arriving shortly, according to the shinobi at the front desk, and their team was asked to stand aside until then.

Reo's breathing hitched when he sensed it.

That black fire that consumed all evil and protected Amegakure.

Owari.

 _Owari's here!_ Reo thought excitedly, wanting to jump up and down in glee. _He's really here! He's going to watch us._

Then Reo recalled Kisame's promise and quickly realized that if Owari was here, then he was probably undercover. As much as Reo wanted to hurry over to Kisame's partner, he knew better. He quickly shoved his hands in his cargo pants pockets to resist the urge to fidget and he schooled his expression to _cool-and-aloof_.

Seiko taught him that!

Speaking of which, the young heiress was fussing with her hair—a nervous tic she had. She wasn't fond of Konoha, like most Amegakure citizens, and even with Kisame and Owari's protection she didn't want to be there. Reo wanted to go over and comfort her, but he didn't trust himself to keep a poker face while doing so.

Itsuki, their most silent teammate, hovered in between the two and was checking through his pack. As their designated medic Itsuki wasn't one to keep many weapons on him, but he did have Sasori's poisons that their sensei gave him.

Reo was, admittedly, pretty dang jealous that Itsuki got to use _the_ Sasori's poisons. But Reo wasn't really one for all that chemistry and biology and blah blah blah, so it was better in Itsuki's hands than his.

Plus Itsuki had to take notes on all the symptoms, reactions, and time of death for everybody he used the poisons on. Which sounded hecka boring and hecka not worth it.

"What do you suppose the first test will be like?" Seiko asked, playing with her white bangs.

"The last round is always a tournament, and the second round is always focused around teamwork," Itsuki murmured, his voice so quiet Reo had to strain to listen.

"The first round in Suna was a, ah, maze," Reo remarked, recalling one of the teams that went to Sunagakure's Exams retelling what happened.

"Better hope it's not a maze this time, since Reo's so directionally challenged," Seiko giggled teasingly.

"Hey!" Reo wanted to protest, but on second thought decided not to. She was right, after all.

Kisame finished up at the front desk and headed back over to his Genin, placing a hand on Reo's head. "Ahh... feels like our escort is coming."

All the Genin looked down the road and Reo's heart started to pound.

There was only one person approaching them.

One person with a chakra signature Reo knew like the back of his hand.

And that chakra signature simply _could not_ belong to—

"Here for a second date, handsome man?" purred the woman with Owari's chakra.

Reo was gaping at her. Seiko was gaping at her. Hell, even the stoic Itsuki was gaping at her!

Reo mostly because _HUH?!_

Seiko and Itsuki because this woman in front of them was unnervingly gorgeous and contradicted their image of evil Konoha kunoichi.

"I couldn't resist your charms," Kisame mockingly flirted. "I hope you don't mind I brought along my kids this time, though. Kiddos, say hi to the one and only... Senju Naasica."

 _Huh? Wha? Huh? But? What? Huh?_ Reo's thoughts were in a complete shamble, but his training kicked in and he bowed sharply. His words were slurred as he managed to get out, "I'm Uzumaki Reo!"

"S-Seiko," Seiko got out breathlessly, her cheeks turning pink as she continued to gap at Naasica.

"Itsuki," muttered their last teammate, shyly looking away and shuffling behind Kisame.

Naasica smiled so sweetly that even Reo could feel his cheeks growing hot.

_Owari's a hot lady?!_

Oh man, now Reo might have to join the Owari fan club when he got back.

"Kisame, you didn't mention you had such _stunning_ Genin," Naasica purred, giving Seiko a sly wink. Reo honestly couldn't blame his teammate turning redder the strawberries.

 _Wait_ — _Senju?_

Oh, man, oh, man, oh, _man_!

Kisame clearly knew about this which means—OH MAN!

 _Konoha is_ so _screwed_ , Reo thought trying his damndest not to grin stupidly. He couldn't quite stop his excited bouncing in place, but that could be excused as just general excitement for the exams. Reo was already known as an energetic Genin.

"Come now," Naasica said, all smiles and sparkling eyes. "Let me show you to your hotel."

"And dinner?" Kisame teased.

"My, my," Naasica chortled. "You know that's against the rules, Kisame."

"Rules were meant to be broken, princess."

 _This is going to be a bloodbath,_ Reo thought, giddy to see what would happen next.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(Konoha Genin)**

Naruto sat beside Shikamaru across from the shogi board, his focus entirely on the game. He and Shikamaru barely made much attention when Shino took a seat beside Shikamaru.

The three comrades sat on the porch of the Nara compound, absentmindedly listening to Kiba practice his taijutsu with his new limbs against Sasuke.

The prosthetics were bought and paid for by their teachers, and Kiba only recently finished his preliminary rehabilitation. He would have a few more months of dedicated training and usage before he could claim to be back up to where he was prior to The Failure.

His prosthetics were good—the best Konoha could get, actually—but they weren't perfect replacements. They were awkward to use, clunky, and lacked the finesse needed for a lot of techniques. It was a good thing he was already specializing in being a bruiser, because nearly every other option was now taken out of his hands.

He didn't fuss about that, though.

None of the ones that survived _fussed_ about what was lost.

At least they were alive.

At least they weren't like those other children.

Shikamaru had taken a special interest in Kiba's rehabilitation, since Kiba was his last living teammate now. He dedicated himself to making sure Kiba didn't stop training, and he made sure Kiba was never alone long enough to mope, or fall down.

Training sessions outside of their scheduled time was the norm. It wasn't necessarily because they wanted to hone their skills, so much as they were afraid what they would do if left alone.

(And none of them wanted to be alone to their thoughts.)

Sasuke and Shino had taken it upon themselves to learn GSL—General Sign Language—with Ino. Everyone knew Konoha's basic code, but GSL would allow communication with civilians, and those outside the village since it was universally accepted across the nations.

They even started making up their own, private, team language. Something that made Ino smile a little sweeter, and feel not quite so bitter.

Sasuke was hellbent on excessive training for the three of them, too. He insisted that they had to be stronger because none of them were allowed to die.

And they felt the same.

Hinata was coping very well, in truth. She only needed one byakugan to retain her near 360 vision, and she was certainly not the first in her family to lose an eye. Her mother, Hisana, worked with her to ensure that her half vision would not be too much of a hindrance.

And Naruto and Sakura were with her every step of that process.

It was the only thing they could do for her, at that point.

Yes, the teams were trying their best to adapt to these new injuries.

The physical scars were the easiest to deal with.

The ones that couldn't be seen... less so.

The guilt was predominant. Seeing a member of Chōji's family, or passing by his favorite restaurant made them cringe. Nightmares plagued them, waking them up in the dead of night with a scream caught in their throats and tears pouring down their faces.

They lost their friend, their comrade in that dungeon.

But they also lost something in themselves.

Hope.

A part of them broke from that mission.

And it broke in such a way that none of them believed it could ever be fixed.

Such things, though, were not talked about out loud. It was an unspoken rule not to say a single thing about the pain in their chest, or the guilt that ate at them from the inside out.

They kept their lips shut, heads down, and focused on the only thing they could: train.

Naruto, Sasuke and Shino picked up shogi from Shikamaru's dad. They needed to learn how to make better choices for their teammates.

Sakura, Hinata and Ino took to learning subterfuge and traps so they could better defend and run away.

And Kiba and Shikamaru spent time at the hospital, learning medicine from Shisui because neither one of them wanted to stand by and watch a friend die.

Their time together was interrupted by the arrival of Kakashi.

All Genin paused in what they were doing to address their teacher.

"It's time for dinner, return home," Kakashi said, his hands in his pockets. "And... it's been decided. Team Naasica and Team Obito will move forward with participating in the Chūnin Exams. Prepare accordingly for tomorrow."

There was no yip of excitement, or smiles cracked.

Only acceptance.

Naruto stood up from his game, as Shikamaru and Shino began to put the pieces away. Sakura and Sasuke stood up with him, and the three of them headed home first.

Sakura had begun sleeping over two weeks ago.

Her parents couldn't help her anymore.

They couldn't understand.

Home was still warm, though. Shisui's smile made Sakura's heart skip a beat, and the older Uchiha always knew how to make Sasuke and Naruto laugh.

Itachi's skills in baking only grew better and better and if he thought the Genin were feeling a little too low he'd baked them such delicious treats they couldn't stop themselves from smiling.

Minato still trained Naruto in fūinjutsu in his free time—and showered his son with kisses and tight hugs. He made sure to spend time with Sasuke and Sakura, too, to let them know that they were family.

Raion was the most socially awkward out of the bunch, but privately trained the Genin on the nights that they couldn't sleep.

Kakashi, Naasica, and Obito helped out their children in their own ways. They were always there to comfort them, to wipe away their tears, and help them cope. The trio never turned them away from their beds when the monsters in their heads were too much for them to deal with on their own.

They had survived the mission.

Now they had to survive living.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(Naruto - Night Before Exams)**

After dinner Naruto sought Naasica out before bed. He was feeling unwell again and instinctively seeked out her comfort. He found her in her room, her gaze distant as she stared at her bedroom window.

He didn't need to announce his presence because she had to have already sensed him in the doorway.

Instead, Naruto sat beside Naasica, and she raised her arm before pulling him into her. He leaned against his surrogate mother, feeling the sickly swirl of guilt rising up again.

He asked her, "Did you ever fail?"

She was silent for a moment, raising a hand up and gently brushing back his hair. "A lot. There are... a lot I couldn't save. A lot I was too late. A lot that I had to hold their hands as they died because I wasn't there fast enough. I've failed a lot, Naruto, and I do not forget that."

"How do you deal with it?" he asked her, his voice cracking.

"I cannot save them, but I can make sure it doesn't happen again," she said. "And that's all I can do."

He curled into her, burying his face into her side and she held him tighter. He whispered, "Does it get easier?"

She fell quiet for another minute before she softly admitted, "No. You just learn to lie to yourself better."

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(Sakura - Morning Of Exams)**

Sakura woke up to Naruto and Sasuke in her bed. That in of itself wasn't weird, but she could have sworn that she had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room, and that Naruto was in Naasica's lap.

 _They must have put us here,_ she figured, slowly starting to wiggle out of their grips without waking them.

This didn't work, though, because Sasuke and Naruto had turned into light sleepers. Sasuke was the first to open his eyes, his dark obsidian gaze flickering around as he tried to register what room he had inevitably ended up in.

Naruto sat up before he opened his eyes, a snort escaping him from the movement. He rubbed at his eyes, sighing out a gentle _good morning._

"Good morning," Sakura echoed, sitting up and leaning on Naruto's warm back.

_Mm. Heater._

Sasuke followed suit—Naruto _always_ slept in the middle because of how warm he was. It was impossible not to cling onto the warm boy. Thankfully, Naruto more than welcomed being the designated body pillow, so there were no issues.

The trio of preteens took their time in waking up. They yawned, chatted quietly, and slowly— _very slowly_ —dragged themselves out of bed before dawn.

The smell of grilled fish and eggs coaxed them into the kitchen.

As soon as Sakura spotted Shisui she reflexively started to fix up her hair, which did not go unnoticed by Sasuke who rolled his eyes. Sakura stuck her tongue out at him.

She couldn't help who she had a crush on! They didn't normally last, so Sakura didn't bother fighting the feelings. She had crushes on Sasuke and Naruto back in the academy, and even Ino at one point.

Shisui was just the latest.

The Uchiha in question was in charge of breakfast this morning, so he was working at the stovetop. He was whistling a merry tune as he flipped one of the pancakes he made.

Itachi was at the table, slowly chewing his breakfast as he read through some kind of book Sakura couldn't see. Next to him was Obito who was cradling Naasica in his lap while she snored softly, and across from him was Kakashi who was enjoying his cup of tea.

It was odd to see Naasica still asleep, but not terribly surprising. All things considered... all things considered Sakura bet Naasica had trouble sleeping sometimes, too.

She couldn't even begin to imagine the monsters in Naasica's head.

Shisui turned around and gave the trio a big grin. "Good morning, little Genin! Excited to graduate into Chūnins?"

"It's not a guarantee that we'll be promoted," Sasuke said dismissively, taking a seat next to Kakashi.

Shisui waved his hand dismissively. "Don't be silly. You guys have been trained by the best. You'll do fine."

"Yeah," Obito agreed quietly. "Eat up, kiddos. Then go kick some ass. Whoever comes in first gets a new weapon."

That instantly perked the trio up.

While Sakura adored her bow and daggers, she thought picking up bo training would be useful. She preferred to keep her opponents at a certain distance, after all. And perhaps she could even get her new weapon to be covered in fūinjutsu seals like her bow!

Naruto really did remarkable work on her bow. Normal bows would be too heavy for her to use realistically in battle, but thanks to physics-defying seals that wasn't an issue.

"In that case," Sasuke trailed off, a small smile on his face.

"Hello Bad Ass sword, here I come," Naruto said, rubbing his hands together with glee.

Sakura scoffed. "Please. If anyone is getting a Bad Ass sword it'd be _me_."

"Children," Sasuke drawled, "don't make me beat you both _too_ bad."

Sakura was about to retort when Shisui handed her a plate of pancakes, grilled fish, eggs, and sliced apples. She blushed, accepting it with a stumbling _thank you_ and abruptly took her seat beside a smirking Obito.

"Shut up," she whispered to Obito as Shisui handed out food to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Such cute kiddos," Obito cooed, shifting Naasica in his arms so that he could steal some food off Sakura's plate. Sakura swatted at his hands, but he was too fast for her to stop him.

"Asshat," Sakura muttered rebelliously.

"I wear it proudly," Obito returned.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(Brief Interlude)**

Rabu found himself wincing when he felt the Darkness near him again.

It was relentless. Rabu could feel its bloodlust, its desire for his death.

He had thought Naasica had the vilest chakra of them all.

Oh, how he was wrong.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**(Second Interlude)**

Kisame whistled a merry tune, ignoring how Reo was spazzing out on the hotel bed. The Uzumaki was squealing in his pillow and rolling side to side on the bed. Itsuki gave his teammate one glance before shrugging and pulling out a sketch book to kill time.

In came Seiko, returning from the baths, and she gave Reo a look of mild disdain. She asked Kisame, "What's with him?"

"He's just fanboying," he chuckled.

"Fanboying?"

Reo lifted his head long enough to grin stupidly at Seiko. "Owari-sama is AMAZING!"

Seiko rolled her eyes. "Are you just now figuring that out? Of course Owari-sama is amazing."

"Amazing," Reo echoed, his eyes bright before he slammed his face back into the pillow and went back to his weird spazzing.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MissNanamiChan on deviantART drew Naasica as bride for Obito and Kakashi. Please check it out if you can. :)
> 
> Next chapter is the Chūnin Exams... and the return of a certain pigtailed Senju.
> 
> For those of you who read my other stories / follow me ya'll know why I had to take a break and were askin' about the results: Don't have the results, yet, but they've all returned so I have some breathing room! Thanks for the support, guys. I'll let ya'll know if I make it through, or not.
> 
> Kisame's team is made to lighten the mood which I figured was necessary after the madness in the past chapter.
> 
>  **Answer:** Obviously Kisame if I can fight as well as him to survive it. If not, Itachi would probably be safe-ish.
> 
>  **Question:** What village would you want to join?
> 
> Reviews are **love**!


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